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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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[phone connect tone drones]
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- [man 1] Hello.
- [man 2] Yeah?
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[man 1] Big Mäck?
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Yes, I don't believe it!
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[laughs]
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Hey, Falko!
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Hey, Big Mäck.
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Ah, I'm so happy.
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Oh man, you won't believe how happy I am.
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Why did they tell me that you had died?
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No. Who told you that?
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The slammer.
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What?
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Do you know how many letters I sent?
Telegrams and everything.
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I didn't get anything.
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First thing I did was look on Facebook.
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I looked everywhere for you.
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Nothing. I found nothing.
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I would never have given up on you.
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They're now making that movie.
A documentary on Netflix.
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That's great.
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I've always been a fighter. Always.
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How are you, really?
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[man 1] This is a hypothetical story.
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[quirky bass guitar playing]
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Hypothetical. Nothing to do with me.
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[funky music playing]
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[man 3] Sometimes life is
crazier than a film.
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I was on a stellar rise
to the top in my career.
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[man 4] What's fascinating about Donald is
he can capture people.
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Fully legal.
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[man 3] Two robberies,
almost 20 years apart,
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and supposedly Donald Stellwag
played a role in both.
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[woman] He was always a bit of a rascal.
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[man 3] If something like that
happens once, it's weird.
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All a lie.
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[man 3] Twice, that's just really strange.
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All hypothetical.
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{\an8}BIG MÄCK
GANGSTERS AND GOLD
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[music fades]
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[interviewer] Don't you find it unusual
that two big events happened in your life?
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Not at all.
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No.
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{\an8}SPARKASSE
FINANCIAL GROUP
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["Jingle Bells" playing]
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ROBBERY 1
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NUREMBERG
19 DECEMBER 1991
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["Jingle Bells" continuing over speakers]
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{\an8}[woman 1] It was in the afternoon,
before half past 3:00.
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{\an8}AUDIO BASED ON COURT DOCUMENTS
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[woman 1] He came in. He was tall and fat.
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He was wearing
a hat, coat, scarf and glasses.
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And he pulled the weapon and said,
"Give me the money, quickly."
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[ominous music playing]
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He threatened customers and my coworkers.
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So I opened the cash register.
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Swiss Francs, Italian currency.
I gave him everything.
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Fifty-four-thousand deutsch mark.
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[woman 2] I was waiting for him there.
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He said he would be right back.
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I had no idea what happened in the bank.
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He got in and told me to drive,
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so I did.
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[man] Go, drive!
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[mysterious music playing]
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[sirens wailing]
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[woman 2] I wanted to turn right
at the end of the street.
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-You were only allowed to go right.
- [man] I said left!
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But then he had a gun in his hand,
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20 centimeters from my head,
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and then he said...
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[man] Go left, or I'll shoot you.
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So I drove down
the one-way street, the wrong way.
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I kept going, running a red light.
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[man] Just drive! Damn it.
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[woman 2] Then he got out and was gone.
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Of course I remember
what he looked like. Very tall.
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At least 1.9 meters,
about 35 years old, and very corpulent.
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[quirky music playing]
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[man] I met Mr. Stellwag
almost 30 years ago.
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He came to the law office
where I worked at the time.
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I remember it clearly.
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{\an8}He came in with 500 deutsch mark,
put them in my hand and said...
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{\an8}MANFRED NEDER
CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER
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...the police were looking for him
and he had to sort something out.
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CASE NUMBER XY UNSOLVED
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{\an8}[in German] At the end of today's program,
we'd once again like to show you photos
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{\an8}which were taken by automatic cameras
during bank robberies.
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{\an8}In December 1991,
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{\an8}this man robbed a Sparkasse branch
in Nuremberg city center.
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{\an8}CRIMINAL POLICE NUREMBERG
(0911) 21 11
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[in English]
That was the beginning of this story.
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{\an8}[reporter in German]
Description, 35 to 40 years old,
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very tall, at least 1.95 meters,
and strikingly obese.
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The man robbed a bank...
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[Neder in English] A police officer
recognized him from a TV show and said,
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"That's Stellwag, I know him."
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{\an8}[line connect tone droning]
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[Stellwag] They were looking for me
for a bank robbery? It wasn't me at all.
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It didn't matter if it was
a bank robbery or something else.
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I wasn't afraid.
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I knew I hadn't done anything.
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[Neder] "It didn't look like a big deal."
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"Pay a short visit to the police
and clarify this."
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"I'm not aware of anything wrong."
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A lot of clients say things like that
when you go with them to the police.
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That's impossible, I'm innocent.
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[Neder] He seemed totally calm.
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You have to find out
what kind of person you're dealing with.
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So you talk, and in that context,
he told me he had nothing to do with it
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and that he was sick.
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We then went into a room.
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You were presented with things,
and among them, this photograph.
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I knew him, so I didn't have to look over.
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I just thought, "This doesn't look good."
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[tense music playing]
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It's a poor quality photo,
but it looks like him.
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The size of the body.
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Then comes the charge.
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[Stellwag] I still remember
when the inspector said
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it was about a bank robbery
with the taking of a hostage in Nuremberg.
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I said, "I don't even know
what you want from me."
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At that time I was not even in Nuremberg.
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A bank robbery is
severe criminal extortion
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with a minimum sentence of five years.
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You can't just go home,
no matter how good your social prognosis.
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You will stay there
to clear up whether it was you or not.
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No matter what you say.
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He insisted it wasn't him
and that he had an alibi.
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Of course, he had to think hard
to remember where he'd been.
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The policeman, the criminal investigator
at the time, believed him.
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That was my impression.
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[Stellwag] So he said, "Let's do a lineup.
Would you agree to that?"
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I said, "Yes. Of course."
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You have to picture the following.
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I come into an empty room,
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with a huge pane of glass,
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and stand there.
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But since there were
no other big fat guys like me,
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I was the only one standing there,
all by myself.
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Six or seven people came in
who'd been customers in the bank.
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And what did they say?
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"He's tall, he's fat, it's him."
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More than 16 people
said I was the perpetrator.
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It floored me.
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I thought, "This is
a really bad horror film."
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[door slams shut]
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[ominous music playing]
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[Neder] The criminal investigator
came up with the idea
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of commissioning an expert assessment,
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also known as an anthropological report.
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It's intended to determine
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if the person in the photo
is identical to the alleged perpetrator.
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These are assessments that are done
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when there are traffic violations
or when people are caught by speed cameras
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and say it wasn't them.
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So he had his picture taken.
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[shutter snapping]
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Then the expert compares
these photos with the image.
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{\an8}[in German] Right, I'll look and see
what we can make out.
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{\an8}DR. CORNELIUS S.
EXPERT WITNESS IN THE DONALD STELLWAG CASE
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{\an8}[in English] The expert
is controversial in many places.
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Many people think less of him.
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{\an8}[reporter in German]
The expert is being evasive today.
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{\an8}The expert did not want to comment.
But his colleague was willing to speak.
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[man in English] If you look
at the anthropological literature,
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there are around 250, 280 characteristics
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that can be defined on the head alone.
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{\an8}PROF. FRIEDRICH RÖSING
FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
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{\an8}So wherever there's something to be stated
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{\an8}about human beings in the legal sense,
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we come into play.
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The court expert must present the findings
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in the simplest and clearest
language possible,
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and then in the end give a probability
of how certain their conclusions are.
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And the expert did a good job
in creating parallel images.
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There was a series of extremely good
pictures of the bank robber,
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so that we always had
pictures next to each other
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that were easy to compare.
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[cryptic music playing]
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[Neder] We were anxiously waiting,
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because the expert
was our door to freedom.
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But he said
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he couldn't be ruled out
as the perpetrator.
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I call it the "ear report."
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It was probably the deciding factor,
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because you could see it
so clearly in the photo.
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He would not be released any time soon.
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[Stellwag] Every week, every day was hell.
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I was at the mercy of the judiciary.
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Dealing with this mentally is perverse.
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I spent almost two years
in detention awaiting trial.
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That was a terrible time for me.
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[Neder] That's a long time.
That would be absurd today.
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it just wouldn't be possible.
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Nothing happened during that time,
because nothing new came up.
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Then there was the trial.
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COURT HOUSE
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25 JANUARY 1994
START OF TRIAL
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Five judges sat there.
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Three full-time professionals,
two on jury duty.
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[man] I think I found out two weeks before
that this trial was about to start.
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And the "ear report" was
obviously the perfect gimmick to use
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as a hook for the reporting.
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{\an8}Even experienced colleagues
had never heard of anything like it...
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{\an8}HARALD BAUMER
CRIME REPORTER
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{\an8}...and they wanted to know
if it would even be possible
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to convict a perpetrator
with this kind of report.
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There was nothing about this
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pointing to Donald
in the vicinity of the bank.
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Nothing.
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No evidence or clues.
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Instead, there was evidence
pointing to his innocence.
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[camera clicking]
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[Neder] In the photo,
the perpetrator wasn't wearing gloves.
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So of course you wonder
why there were no fingerprints.
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There were,
but they didn't match Donald's.
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[Rösing] Anyone who sees this
would say, "Wait, something's wrong."
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He touched everything in that car
and was the last one to touch it.
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The top layer of fingerprints
would have to be his.
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Nothing. Not one.
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[Stellwag] The police inspector said,
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"We have 12 fingerprints.
Eight can be used for dactyloscopy."
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FINGERPRINTS CANNOT BE MATCHED
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"It couldn't have been you."
What about the witnesses?
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CASHIER'S OFFICE WITH VIEW OF TILLS
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[holiday music playing over speakers]
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[distant siren wailing]
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[Baumer] I remember two witnesses
who were at the trial.
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One was the taxi driver who had driven him
to the scene of the crime and back.
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She was pretty sure
he was the perpetrator.
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There was a statement
about the nicotine fingers
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and a pout like a frog
that she said she remembered.
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{\an8}AUDIO BASED ON COURT DOCUMENTS
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{\an8}[witness] I'm very sure of it.
He was sitting right next to me.
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{\an8}I was able to get a good look at him.
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[Baumer] It was similar with the cashier
who had been threatened by him.
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WITH ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY
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[witness 2] It was him. I'm 95% sure.
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No, 99%.
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99% PROBABILITY
244
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:36,520
He was tall. And fat.
245
00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,720
A TALL, FAT PERSON
246
00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:45,480
The defendant stood out
because of his corpulence and his height.
247
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:49,160
The second factor,
248
00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,120
which had absolutely nothing to do
with his appearance,
249
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,480
was the intensity
with which he denied the crime.
250
00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,080
That differed significantly
from many other defendants.
251
00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,080
[Stellwag]
That's what's so grotesque, you see?
252
00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,160
You're going crazy. You don't understand.
253
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:10,880
The judge didn't believe a word I said.
254
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:15,080
And back then I said to the lawyer,
"They can't just..."
255
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:16,760
And he said, "Wait and see."
256
00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,360
[Neder] At that time,
he was in advertising.
257
00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:25,200
You could make a lot of money
selling newspapers and things like that.
258
00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:27,720
They were out and about every day.
259
00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,720
You could trace that back,
step by step. Which was good.
260
00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,480
[Stellwag] At the time
I was 250 kilometers away.
261
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,120
In Leuna, in a big hotel with my friends.
262
00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,400
They could swear that it hadn't been me.
263
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:49,000
[witness] Leuna, B91, Hotel.
I'm sure about that.
264
00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,360
We had witnesses, an alibi with evidence.
The story he told made sense.
265
00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:56,440
Sitting with the manager...
266
00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,440
[Neder] There was a hotel owner who had
267
00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:03,000
the booking confirmation
with him on a piece of paper.
268
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,040
RECEIPT NO. 94027
269
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:07,720
B91 HOTEL
LEUNA-MERSEBURG
270
00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:10,440
He was asked
if he could possibly be wrong,
271
00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,840
whether it was a day before
or maybe a day after.
272
00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,280
You could really sense that it all seemed
a bit suspicious to them.
273
00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,320
[Baumer] There were witness testimonies
274
00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,840
that he was actually
hundreds of kilometers away
275
00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:27,960
in a completely different town.
276
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,280
That was something
you'd have to be able to pull off then.
277
00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,160
The court didn't think
those statements were true.
278
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:38,200
The public prosecutor
used every trick to dismantle this alibi.
279
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,600
Then suddenly, he didn't have one.
280
00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,640
[Neder] I have to tip my hat to Donald.
281
00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:53,480
He has always been such a fighter,
saying, "We'll prove that I'm innocent."
282
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,960
Then there was the person
who decided this war, the expert,
283
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:02,360
who presented the assessment.
284
00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,080
[expert] On the left side
of the left ear, for example,
285
00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:09,880
it runs in a round arch
and goes without a break into...
286
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:13,920
He said there were
no two identical human ears,
287
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:15,640
just like with fingerprints.
288
00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:25,440
{\an8}If he identifies an ear and says
it's the same ear as that person's...
289
00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:26,760
{\an8}DRAWING FROM ORIGINAL REPORT
290
00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,080
{\an8}...then it's 100% certain.
291
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,000
There are no two of the same in the world.
292
00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:37,120
[expert] The contour of the conical edge
of the perpetrator as well as the accused...
293
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,520
[Neder] The more they asked him
and the more we tried to attack him
294
00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:43,760
and cast doubt on what he was saying,
295
00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:45,680
the more certain he became.
296
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,080
[expert] The protrusion shows evenly...
297
00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:53,240
ANTERIOR CRUS OF ANTIHELIX
298
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:58,240
...the connective tissue contour
of the conical edge,
299
00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,480
which is completely identical
to that of the suspect...
300
00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,080
COMPLETELY IDENTICAL
301
00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,480
[Rösing] Being under pressure
from so many questions,
302
00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:15,960
and even some incredulous ones,
303
00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,760
he moved towards
the direction of "Yes, I'm totally sure."
304
00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:23,520
[Neder] At one point Donald
couldn't hold back anymore
305
00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,120
and accused him
of wrongfully incriminating him.
306
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,360
I got up and said,
"What are you talking about?"
307
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:35,320
"What kind of hocus-pocus is this?
What kind of crap are you pushing?"
308
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,680
"It could not have been me.
I have alibi witnesses."
309
00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:42,080
Because of this dispute,
310
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,120
the expert addressed
the defendant directly,
311
00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:45,800
which is totally unusual.
312
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:51,080
[Stellwag] "Mr. Stellwag, admit to it.
It's hopeless, you're the culprit."
313
00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:59,120
That's when I reached my limit.
How can you make such a statement?
314
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,040
That was the point
they could use to convict me.
315
00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:04,440
[tense music playing]
316
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,480
[judge] In the name of the people,
we reach this verdict.
317
00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:15,480
VERDICT
318
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:19,400
MAIN TRIAL
16 FEBRUARY 1994
319
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:23,960
[Stellwag] I can still hear the words.
320
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,760
THE DEFENDANT
321
00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:28,080
[judge] The defendant is guilty.
322
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:29,160
[Stellwag] Guilty.
323
00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:31,320
Nine years.
324
00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,200
Nine years is a lot of time.
325
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:45,640
[Stellwag] It was insane.
326
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,920
I thought this was the end.
327
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:54,320
How could they ignore
so much exonerating evidence?
328
00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:56,160
I just can't understand.
329
00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:03,600
It was not me.
330
00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,240
DUE TO CORPULENCE AND LEFT EAR
331
00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,720
"GUILTY"
332
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:20,920
You have to remember, I was in isolation.
That's different from normal prison.
333
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:31,440
It was clear to me.
334
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,000
I'm not the perpetrator,
so I can't admit guilt.
335
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,160
And if I don't admit it,
I'm not capable of rehabilitation.
336
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,200
If you aren't willing to work
towards reintegration into society,
337
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,960
you won't get any privileges.
338
00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,120
Further education, canceled.
339
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,000
Vocational training, canceled.
340
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,920
Twenty-three hours in the cell,
one in the yard.
341
00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:08,880
If you're in solitary confinement
and you have no radio, no TV, it's hell.
342
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:13,280
Nobody talked to me!
343
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:17,200
This was torture.
344
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:27,200
SEVEN YEARS LATER
345
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:31,440
[pensive music playing]
346
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,960
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
DAY OF RELEASE
347
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:41,480
{\an8}[Stellwag] They didn't give me
a single day.
348
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:42,560
{\an8}ARCHIVE FOOTAGE, 2001
349
00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,040
{\an8}I had to serve my sentence
until the last day.
350
00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,920
I survived. I served nine years.
351
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:57,960
I wanted peace and quiet.
352
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,440
Then came the blow. I get a letter
353
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,880
from the district attorney's
office in Nuremberg
354
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,040
to urgently contact my lawyer.
355
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,480
It's about a bank robbery with hostages.
356
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:20,520
Again.
357
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,840
I thought, "Now they'll finish you."
358
00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:27,320
Just like in American thrillers.
359
00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:31,600
[Stellwag] I went to my lawyer and said,
360
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,680
"I'm supposed to get in touch with you
about a bank robbery."
361
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:35,600
He says, "Yes."
362
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,880
I say, "What bank robbery?
Don't you see what I look like?"
363
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:40,160
"I can barely walk."
364
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,880
He says, "I have to tell you something."
365
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:43,920
I say, "What?"
366
00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:45,800
[suspenseful music builds]
367
00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:47,360
[camera clicks]
368
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,240
[ominous music playing]
369
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:56,160
A police officer called me to inform me
there was a new development in the case.
370
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,200
[man 1] The Nuremberg criminal police
are reevaluating the old evidence.
371
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:03,840
INVESTIGATION, UNKNOWN
372
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:05,760
[man 2] A fingerprint on a taxi.
373
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:07,000
TAXI N-DU 337
MIDDLE FINGER
374
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,240
[man 3 in German] A new witness
put investigators on the right track.
375
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:15,600
[man 4 in German] A man with a similar
stocky build to Donald Stellwag
376
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:19,960
had carried out a series of bank robberies
following the same pattern,
377
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,240
such as arriving and fleeing by taxi.
378
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,160
[man 3] A comparison with fingerprints
secured at the crime scene
379
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,960
led officers to a 38-year-old man
who was already in prison.
380
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,440
[man 4 in German] It can now
be clearly attributed to him.
381
00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:38,760
IDENTITY ESTABLISHED
382
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,200
[in English] That blew my mind.
383
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,480
As if somebody hit me
on the head with a sledgehammer.
384
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:46,920
That's how it floored me.
385
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,760
[suspenseful music playing]
386
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,800
EVIDENCE OF MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE?
387
00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:53,840
[camera clicks]
388
00:23:58,200 --> 00:23:59,360
[camera clicks]
389
00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:02,880
JUSTICE AT THE SECOND ATTEMPT
390
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,320
43-YEAR-OLD IN PRISON FOR A BANK\ ROBBERY
HE MAY NOT HAVE COMMITTED
391
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,120
[in German] Donald Stellwag had to atone
392
00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:11,120
for a bank robbery in Nuremberg
he never committed.
393
00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:15,120
[man 1 in German] Now Donald Stellwag
is fighting for a retrial of his case.
394
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:16,480
But for that to happen,
395
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,360
the real perpetrator
must first be convicted.
396
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,600
The real perpetrator's undoing
was his own cockiness.
397
00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,200
He had boasted to an accomplice
398
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:30,400
that in 1991 he had robbed
a Sparkasse branch in Nuremberg Südstadt.
399
00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:34,160
He had fled undetected
and would probably have never been caught
400
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:37,880
if he hadn't been ratted out
by his accomplice.
401
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,960
The defendant,
who was heavily shielded in court,
402
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:42,920
made a full confession today
403
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,320
and apologized repeatedly
to his innocent doppelgänger.
404
00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:48,000
VERDICT
405
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:51,560
[man 2 in English] Frank is sentenced
to 11 and a half years in prison
406
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,480
for this and other robberies.
407
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:56,760
{\an8}ERROR CONFIRMED
408
00:24:57,640 --> 00:24:58,920
[Stellwag in German] I knew I had
409
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,240
neither committed a crime
nor done anything wrong.
410
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:03,440
I am innocent.
411
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:06,760
[reporter 1] Innocent in prison.
412
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:08,840
[reporters] Donald Stellwag...
413
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,160
[reporter 2] An unfathomable
miscarriage of justice...
414
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,480
- [reporter 2] Miscarriage of justice...
- Donald Stellwag...
415
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:14,920
Victim of a miscarriage of justice...
416
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,560
I don't want to say
it was legal salvation,
417
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:26,000
but you had been chasing this ghost
all this time during the trial.
418
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,120
And then this ghost
is right in front of you.
419
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,600
{\an8}[in German] It feels good
to sit there and to realize
420
00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,680
{\an8}that the battle
you fought back then wasn't in vain,
421
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:39,320
{\an8}but that it was justified.
422
00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,080
[in English] And you say to yourself,
"We were right after all."
423
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:46,560
Donald remained composed.
424
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:53,160
He made it through the whole thing
pretty well. At least on the outside.
425
00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,880
I haven't managed to look very deep
inside of him yet.
426
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:00,320
He doesn't allow that.
427
00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:07,720
{\an8}[Stellwag in German]
I don't think I'll ever be free.
428
00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,840
{\an8}I spent far, far too long
in prison for that.
429
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,760
{\an8}I think it will take me
a very, very long time.
430
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,480
{\an8}There are a lot of things
I have to deal with
431
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,080
{\an8}before I can block it out.
432
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,600
And I don't want to block it out,
I just want to work through it.
433
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:29,560
[woman in English]
The story was shocking to me.
434
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,040
I heard it and thought,
"That's crazy. What even is that?"
435
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,560
{\an8}When we met him, you could tell
he was in a depressive state.
436
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:38,720
{\an8}ANGELA GRAAS FILMMAKER
437
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,000
{\an8}I got the feeling
that he quickly trusted us
438
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,440
{\an8}because we really tried to understand him.
439
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:52,840
{\an8}We accepted him as he was,
440
00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:54,320
{\an8}and from that moment on,
441
00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,720
{\an8}he really tried to find
a way back to a normal life.
442
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,320
{\an8}He hadn't been
out of prison long at that point.
443
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:02,640
6 DECEMBER 2001
DAY OF ACQUITTAL
444
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:06,400
He officially got acquitted
after nine years. Name cleared.
445
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,480
It happens in court
so it becomes official.
446
00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:10,720
Only then do you get
447
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,200
the compensation payment
from the government.
448
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,600
THE DEFENDANT SHALL BE COMPENSATED
FOR THE PRISON SENTENCE SUFFERED
449
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:19,960
{\an8}THE VERDICT IS REVERSED
450
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:22,800
{\an8}AND THE DEFENDANT IS ACQUITTED.
451
00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,600
{\an8}HIS INNOCENCE HAS BEEN PROVEN.
452
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,840
He would get money for every day
he'd been in prison while innocent.
453
00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:36,840
He said the amount was a joke.
454
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,360
It clearly wasn't enough
to start a new life.
455
00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,440
[Stellwag in German]
I thought when I was acquitted,
456
00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,640
which happened on December 6th,
457
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:48,880
the state would help me
ease back into normal life.
458
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:50,880
But it did nothing of the sort.
459
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,760
The state just says, "The man gets
his 20 deutsch marks per day."
460
00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:57,480
[in English]
Board and lodging get deducted,
461
00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,160
and the sum is calculated
based on the number of days.
462
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,240
The result is the amount he's rewarded.
463
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:03,320
2186 DAYS OF IMPRISONMENT
464
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,680
24,046.00 EUR
465
00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:08,160
He was shocked.
466
00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:11,760
He'd thought he'd be compensated
and be able to live comfortably.
467
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:12,960
That was not the case.
468
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,080
It wasn't a lot of money for nine years.
469
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:17,760
I was very disappointed.
470
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:20,920
STRAUBING PRISON
471
00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:30,160
[Graas] After his imprisonment,
he first went to temporary housing.
472
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,160
It was a bit like
a flat share for former convicts.
473
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,240
He read a lot,
which was something he'd done in prison.
474
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:39,880
And it was important to him.
475
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,480
He read about management, about business,
476
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,080
maybe thinking about preparing
for his professional future after that.
477
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,280
[Stellwag in German]
I faced a huge task in prison.
478
00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,960
namely, first of all, to fight my illness.
479
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,160
Don't forget that I have two brain tumors.
480
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,040
And then I got extremely fat
481
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:07,120
due to strong cortisone treatments
and other things.
482
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,640
I thought I wouldn't survive prison.
483
00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,120
[in English]
The tumor in my head is killing me.
484
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,320
I am a high-risk patient.
485
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,600
The doctor says
it's a miracle I'm still alive.
486
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,400
But mentally, I'm very fit.
487
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,120
Believe me. I am.
488
00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,360
I wanted to prove that it wasn't me.
489
00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:37,320
[quirky, upbeat music playing]
490
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:40,680
PEOPLE OF THE WEEK
491
00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,920
[in German] Hello, everyone.
Hello, good evening.
492
00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:46,400
He spent eight years,
493
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:48,440
I repeat, eight years,
494
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:50,680
in prison in Germany as an innocent man.
495
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:54,640
It sounds too unrealistic.
You think such a thing can't happen.
496
00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:55,600
Total nightmare.
497
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:57,560
How blind is our justice system?
498
00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,960
This tragedy happened
in the Federal Republic of Germany,
499
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:02,440
a constitutional state.
500
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,240
[reporter] Gross miscarriage of justice?
501
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,120
Donald Stellwag was
an innocent man in prison.
502
00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:10,080
For Donald Stellwag,
that was the harsh reality.
503
00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:13,320
His life, and he himself,
changed in prison.
504
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:15,040
Welcome, Donald Stellwag.
505
00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:17,880
- [reporter 2] The case of Donald Stellwag.
- [reporter 3] Donald Stellwag.
506
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:20,760
Hello, Mr. Stellwag.
507
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,720
[Stellwag in English] RTL,
Bayerischer Rundfunk, SAT 1,
508
00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:26,960
{\an8}Johannes B. Kerner.
509
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,600
{\an8}I also went to Fliege.
510
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,360
[in German]
We accept that you are innocent
511
00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,440
and we want
to welcome you back into society.
512
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,360
Donald Stellwag, welcome.
513
00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:39,440
[Stellwag in English]
Everything is the same.
514
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:44,280
At some point it becomes routine.
I asked, "Why did you invite me back?"
515
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:47,320
He says, "That's obvious.
You pull good ratings."
516
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:48,640
[host in German] Now, if you...
517
00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:50,440
[Stellwag in English]
I went to Maischberger.
518
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,000
[in German] If he really didn't do it...
519
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:56,480
[in English] I went with him once,
to make sure he wouldn't mess up.
520
00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,440
[in German] How did they apologize to you?
521
00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,520
They never did.
522
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:01,080
[Neder] That's not quite correct.
523
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:06,040
{\an8}You know that the judge in Ansbach,
who presided over the retrial, apologized.
524
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,480
{\an8}And the public prosecutor.
She had nothing to do with the trial.
525
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,120
If you are innocent,
you have to pay for your incarceration.
526
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:14,280
[host 2] Excuse me?
527
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,840
[Neder in English] When he tells a story,
he likes to paint a picture.
528
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:23,080
He uses a lot of colors
and puts ornaments here and there.
529
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,960
Then the story becomes
more well-rounded and sells better.
530
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:28,040
He's a salesman.
531
00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:31,240
And 14 days after my release,
532
00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:33,160
I was released in 2001,
533
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:38,400
the real perpetrator robbed a bank again,
in this case, a Postbank in Nuremberg.
534
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,160
He was just unlucky.
Technology was more advanced now.
535
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,720
A steel grid came down from the ceiling
and they caught him in the act.
536
00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:47,880
Just his bad luck, I'm afraid.
537
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,080
[in English]
Never heard that before. Nice.
538
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:57,280
{\an8}Sometimes it's the same story,
but structured differently.
539
00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:58,760
{\an8}FRANK VOGEL
BUSINESS PARTNER
540
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,480
And it could've been told
by two different people.
541
00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,400
I'm not saying he knows what works well.
542
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,560
He's just unlucky
he has an exciting story.
543
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,720
If he tells it like that,
then that's the way it is.
544
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:17,840
[Stellwag] A journalist
once wrote about me,
545
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,560
"He celebrates the fallibility
of the Bavarian judiciary."
546
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:27,520
I have never told
a single lie on a TV show.
547
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:29,440
Always the truth.
548
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,640
{\an8}ALMOST 5 YEARS IN PRISON
AS AN INNOCENT MAN
549
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:34,760
{\an8}INNOCENT IN PRISON FOR YEARS
EXTREME CASES
550
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:36,640
{\an8}"LEGAL HISTORY WRITTEN THE PAINFUL WAY"
551
00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:38,640
{\an8}VICTIM OF MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE FIGHTS ON
552
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:40,720
{\an8}[host in German] With the acquittal,
553
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:42,920
{\an8}are you now, so to speak, a free man
554
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:47,520
in that the matter is settled for you,
or is there something to work through?
555
00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:51,840
Yes, I still have a civil case going
against the expert witness.
556
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:56,200
I always thought I was free,
but I'm not free. I'm still trapped.
557
00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,800
[in English] I was often asked, "How much
is Dr. Cornelius [bleep] at fault?"
558
00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,200
[in German]
I don't feel psychologically free.
559
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,400
I don't feel mentally free.
560
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,080
[in English]
He completely destroyed my soul.
561
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:11,160
His reputation was important to him,
562
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:13,960
and so was his entire rehabilitation.
563
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:17,040
His fight was always
directed against this expert.
564
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,600
{\an8}What happened to him was...
Well, it was unimaginable.
565
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:22,600
{\an8}FALK SIMANG FRIEND
566
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:26,880
{\an8}For someone to come along,
some clown, plainly speaking,
567
00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:30,920
and say he can identify you by your ear?
568
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,000
Sure, we're laughing now,
but imagine being in Donald's shoes.
569
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:42,560
You wouldn't understand
how this could happen.
570
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,400
[Stellwag] My fight's
always related to the expert witness.
571
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,800
I believed that if he was wrong
in my case,
572
00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:50,880
then he made countless other mistakes.
573
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,800
And there were many people
who were innocently imprisoned
574
00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,000
and who didn't have
my mental strength to get through it.
575
00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:03,000
It was the fourth or fifth expert report
[bleep] had given incorrectly.
576
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,880
[reporter in German] Donald Stellwag
hopes the man who caused his conviction
577
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:10,680
with an inaccurate expert report
will be forced to pay damages.
578
00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:14,840
[Neder in English] He sued the expert,
and that set some sort of precedent.
579
00:34:16,720 --> 00:34:18,400
[Stellwag] Before I sued the expert,
580
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,720
no judge or expert
had ever been convicted.
581
00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:25,320
Can you imagine that
in our legal system? Never!
582
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,040
We established a precedent with that.
583
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,600
[reporter 1 in German]
The higher court in Frankfurt agrees,
584
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,880
and forces expert witness Cornelius S.
to pay damages.
585
00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,560
[reporter 2] Cornelius S. has to pay
150,000 euros in damages
586
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:39,400
for the suffering caused
to Donald Stellwag.
587
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,080
I didn't think it was possible.
588
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:47,480
And this is not about money at all.
The money is completely irrelevant.
589
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,760
[reporter 2]
It's the first case in Germany
590
00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:53,520
in which an expert witness
is held civilly liable
591
00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:55,560
for an inaccurate court report.
592
00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:00,600
[in English] That was deeply satisfying.
Man, did I cheer.
593
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,400
The Anthropological Society,
with Professor Rösing,
594
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,640
established these rules
on how the job needs to be done.
595
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,800
The Stellwag scandal was the trigger
596
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,480
for the fact that now
there are finally standards.
597
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,440
[Neder] I haven't seen him since,
598
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,640
but I know he's still working
and still does expert statements.
599
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:30,360
Surprisingly, he's already given
his incorrect statements in the courts.
600
00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:41,040
The talk shows
went from the end of 2001 to 2008
601
00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:43,880
[pensive music playing]
602
00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:46,320
That wasn't what I wanted to do.
603
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:49,920
I didn't want to be
on shows like that and tell my story.
604
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,160
- [in German] Mr. Stellwag's first life.
- Exactly.
605
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,960
Now let's have a look
at Mr. Stellwag's second life.
606
00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:04,600
[Stellwag in English] I thought,
"You're mobile, you have a passport."
607
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,320
"They can all kiss your ass."
608
00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:11,200
Everything was possible.
609
00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:17,080
The probability of two big public stories
happening in one lifetime is very low.
610
00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:21,840
The second story is actually better
than the one about the bank robbery.
611
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:29,040
It didn't surprise me
that he had issues again.
612
00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,880
For most people, nothing like this
ever happens during their lifetime.
613
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:36,440
And he got implicated twice.
614
00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:38,040
Fascinating.
615
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,480
[Stellwag] All I wanted was a better life.
616
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:45,360
But no.
617
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,600
ROBBERY 2
618
00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:55,360
15 DECEMBER 2009
A81 NEAR LUDWIGSBURG
619
00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,920
[DJ] And for all the drivers out there
at the Weinsberg interchange,
620
00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:01,200
there is once again a...
621
00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:07,840
{\an8}[man 1] It was in the morning,
just before 10:00.
622
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,400
{\an8}Two of us were driving
on the A81 near Ludwigsburg
623
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,120
{\an8}AUDIO RECORDING BASED ON COURT DOCUMENTS
624
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:14,840
A BMW with blue light appeared.
625
00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:17,960
A sign reading "please follow."
626
00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:22,080
What do you do?
627
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,280
You think they're cops
and you follow them.
628
00:37:27,720 --> 00:37:30,440
I thought,
"Well, I was going pretty fast."
629
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,000
We stopped under a highway bridge.
630
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,840
There were
three police officers in the car.
631
00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:45,680
Two stepped out.
632
00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:48,440
[man 2] From our side it went...
633
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:52,680
"Vehicle documents and ID please."
634
00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:54,600
Vehicle documents, please.
635
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:57,360
ID as well.
636
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,640
[man 2] Then something crazy happened.
637
00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:04,600
The passenger's papers
said he used to be a policeman.
638
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:07,560
I thought to myself,
"Fuck. What if he notices something?"
639
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:09,640
Let's go. Get out of the car.
640
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:17,600
[man 1] At that moment
I noticed something about the BMW.
641
00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:19,640
A barcode on the license plate holder.
642
00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:22,280
It was just a normal rental car.
643
00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:28,880
- [officer] Police.
- [driver] Tax investigators?
644
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:31,760
You're under arrest for tax evasion.
645
00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:35,200
[man 2] They put up no resistance.
646
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:36,240
It was that simple.
647
00:38:36,240 --> 00:38:37,720
Handcuffs on and done.
648
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,000
"The van is being confiscated."
649
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,280
The two guys with us
were in the back seat of our car.
650
00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:51,240
One said, "Lots of Turks in the police."
651
00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:52,920
[laughter]
652
00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:04,840
[suspenseful music builds]
653
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:12,720
[man 1] They left us in the woods.
In that moment I thought, "That's it."
654
00:39:12,720 --> 00:39:16,600
There's over a-million-and-a-half
Euros' worth of gold in that van.
655
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:18,920
Now that's worth killing someone for.
656
00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:25,720
DONALD HOME
DONALD CELL
657
00:39:25,720 --> 00:39:26,800
[engine revving]
658
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:33,760
[in German] Such spectacular robberies
don't happen often, the police say.
659
00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:36,760
1.8 million euros in gold and jewelry.
660
00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:39,960
[reporter] Two hundred pounds
of scrap gold from a Nuremberg jeweler
661
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:42,800
on its way to be melted down in Pforzheim.
662
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:44,520
The goods were not insured.
663
00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,200
[mysterious music playing]
664
00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:53,600
{\an8}[in English]
The story itself is completely crazy.
665
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:54,600
{\an8}TIM HÖHN JOURNALIST
666
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:56,240
{\an8}There's no other way to put it.
667
00:39:57,360 --> 00:40:00,680
Five people disguised
as cops and tax investigators
668
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,240
ambush a gold truck on the highway.
669
00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:06,360
They must have acted
like tax investigators.
670
00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:09,120
[reporter 2 in German]
A major raid in Brüser Berg.
671
00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:13,240
[reporter 3] A 24-year-old man
was arrested in the Cologne-Bonn area.
672
00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:16,520
He is said to be
one of the masterminds of the robbery.
673
00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:20,920
But four other men are still at large,
including rapper Xatar.
674
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:26,320
A gangster rapper as a real gangster?
675
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:27,600
{\an8}[rapping in German]
676
00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:36,720
[Höhn in English]
It was a group of friends.
677
00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:38,920
Men in Xatar's circle.
678
00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:46,840
The name was certainly familiar
in the hip-hop gangster rap scene.
679
00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:51,200
He'd already made a name for himself
in Bonn, but not yet in all of Germany.
680
00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:55,240
{\an8}[reporter in German] He likes to pose
as a criminal, uncompromising ghetto star.
681
00:40:56,240 --> 00:41:00,680
[Xatar] Xatar literally means "danger"
in Kurdish, Arabic and so on.
682
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:04,200
[reporter 2] Internet videos were probably
Xatar's most important platform.
683
00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:07,920
{\an8}He spent years building his image
as a brutal gangster.
684
00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:11,280
[in English] Hottie Alessandra Mendes
has just recently dropped the lawsuit
685
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,720
against a German rapper named Xatar
686
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:15,880
who supposedly punched Alessandra
in the face
687
00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:19,040
after having too much to drink
during a party at the Playboy Mansion.
688
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:22,840
[reporter 3 in German]
At a party, he breaks a model's nose
689
00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:24,960
and has to pay $50,000 bail.
690
00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,120
[reporter 4 in German] Gangster music
and gangster life
691
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:28,760
were increasingly merging into one.
692
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,880
[reporter 5 in German] Some might have
thought him capable of dodgy deals,
693
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:33,600
but a million-dollar heist?
694
00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:38,360
Xatar and his accomplices
make a spectacular escape.
695
00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:41,240
First, they fled to Moscow via Abu Dhabi.
696
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:44,360
[reporter 6] They are arrested
in Iraq in February 2010.
697
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:48,000
[reporter 5] Xatar now has the opportunity
to face up to Germany's laws,
698
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:51,600
as he has been caught and this week
has been on trial in Stuttgart.
699
00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:56,560
[hip-hop music playing]
700
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:12,040
I had been a court reporter
701
00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:14,520
for the Stuttgarter Zeitung
for a long time,
702
00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:17,880
and followed the trial
of the gold robbery with great interest.
703
00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:22,400
There were situations
where you got the impression
704
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,560
that this wasn't a trial,
but a staged play.
705
00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:29,080
I thought it couldn't be true.
706
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,600
Xatar was the driving force
behind the raid.
707
00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:42,720
He organized it, recruited the men.
708
00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:47,360
He got a tip, so they knew when the van
was leaving and where it was going.
709
00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:48,560
And then they set off.
710
00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:53,560
He was struggling financially,
711
00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:57,840
which is why he was open to the idea
of hijacking this gold delivery.
712
00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,040
They grinned at each other
when they came into the courtroom.
713
00:43:08,040 --> 00:43:09,400
They were thrilled when they saw
714
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:11,800
acquaintances or relatives
in the audience.
715
00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:16,440
[judge in German] Be quiet!
I'm talking to him, not to you.
716
00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:24,600
[in English] The lawyers yelled,
insulted each other and made accusations.
717
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:27,040
Most of all, I remember Malte Höch.
718
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:30,120
He's someone who brings
a bit of color to such a trial.
719
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:32,720
He was a well-known
television lawyer at the time.
720
00:43:32,720 --> 00:43:33,640
JUDGE BARBARA SALESCH
721
00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:35,040
{\an8}DEFENSE LAWYER MALTE HÖCH SUMMATION
722
00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:37,560
{\an8}[in German] The prosecutor's right.
My client must be acquitted.
723
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,120
[in English] He has
a distinctive hairstyle
724
00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:42,320
and his demeanor is very interesting.
725
00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:46,880
He argued aggressively with lawyers
who followed a different strategy.
726
00:43:51,240 --> 00:43:53,360
They didn't talk about the matter at hand.
727
00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:55,640
For them, the trial was
728
00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:58,720
a welcome distraction
from everyday life in jail.
729
00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:02,720
They only started talking
later in the trial.
730
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,440
Then the question was,
how is that possible?
731
00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:12,560
We have an alcohol seller in Nuremberg.
732
00:44:12,560 --> 00:44:14,840
We have a robbery in Ludwigsburg.
733
00:44:14,840 --> 00:44:17,720
Then a few hundred kilometers north, Bonn.
734
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:24,000
Now you connect those somehow.
735
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:26,120
[in German] So for once, I agree with you.
736
00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:28,040
Because there is another name.
737
00:44:28,880 --> 00:44:32,040
[Höhn in English] Xatar said
the tip came from Donald Stellwag.
738
00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:38,920
The next story,
739
00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:41,600
it's almost unbelievable.
740
00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:45,360
VICTIM OF MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
BACK IN THE DOCK
741
00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:48,560
DID HE PLAN THE BIG GOLD HEIST
IN LUDWIGSBURG?
742
00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:51,360
[Höhn] So we have this TV lawyer.
743
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:52,760
We have Xatar.
744
00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:54,800
Now we also have Donald Stellwag.
745
00:44:56,520 --> 00:44:57,800
That doesn't sound plausible.
746
00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:00,040
That's just a made-up story.
747
00:45:00,720 --> 00:45:03,240
He's supposed to have been the mastermind?
748
00:45:03,240 --> 00:45:04,760
I still don't believe it.
749
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:06,360
[scoffs]
750
00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:10,880
I don't think so.
How would he even do that? [laughs]
751
00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:14,360
The question looming is,
752
00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:15,440
"Where is the gold?"
753
00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:21,760
Many people in the auditorium,
754
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:23,040
including myself,
755
00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:25,280
were hoping that Stellwag would show up.
756
00:45:28,240 --> 00:45:29,760
There's a trial going on
757
00:45:29,760 --> 00:45:31,520
and there's a dark figure
in the background
758
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,600
that everyone's waiting for.
759
00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:35,560
WAS STELLWAG THE MASTERMIND
BEHIND A GOLD HEIST?
760
00:45:35,560 --> 00:45:39,200
Stellwag knew how it went down
and also how it ended.
761
00:45:41,160 --> 00:45:42,160
He didn't show up.
762
00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:54,360
[Stellwag] I never fled.
My lawyer always knew where I was.
763
00:45:55,920 --> 00:45:58,920
I only had a phone number.
I didn't know where he was.
764
00:46:14,920 --> 00:46:17,880
[Stellwag] I'm lying here.
I have a very hard time moving.
765
00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:23,760
I can't go to the bathroom
because my legs can't support me anymore.
766
00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:25,680
The other side, face it here.
767
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:28,320
Or I wouldn't have given
the interview lying down.
768
00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:29,400
Yeah, that's good.
769
00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:38,240
I wouldn't have been
scared of that confrontation
770
00:46:38,240 --> 00:46:40,640
because I couldn't have been
the perpetrator.
771
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:45,120
[Xatar] The tip came from Donald Stellwag.
772
00:46:47,560 --> 00:46:51,800
Everyone in Stuttgart
testified that I was the boss.
773
00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:55,200
Do you believe that I could be
the boss of a Kurdish clan?
774
00:46:57,160 --> 00:46:59,160
They should realize they're nuts.
775
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:01,960
[interviewer] But were you innocent?
776
00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:04,840
Innocent about the gold heist?
777
00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:08,200
Of course, without a shadow of a doubt.
778
00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:09,760
I wouldn't be crazy enough
779
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:14,080
to have serious money
and still pull a bullshit stunt like that.
780
00:47:15,880 --> 00:47:17,240
What would be my motive?
781
00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:21,720
I've got nothing to do with that.
782
00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:28,640
He can adapt to any situation.
That's what's fascinating.
783
00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:36,680
[Stellwag] In 2001,
I immediately began to rebuild my life.
784
00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:38,640
I knew how to sell myself.
785
00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:42,000
Thank God I studied marketing behind bars.
786
00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:45,720
[reporter in German] A unique victim
of a miscarriage of justice.
787
00:47:45,720 --> 00:47:49,360
The freedom Donald Stellwag talks about
is worth 10,000 deutsch marks.
788
00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:52,840
That's the sum for which he sold his story
to a commercial TV station
789
00:47:52,840 --> 00:47:54,680
and now gives interviews only to them.
790
00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:59,440
If I told you how much I made through
the media, you wouldn't believe me.
791
00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:00,680
Lots of money.
792
00:48:00,680 --> 00:48:03,080
{\an8}-Donald Stellwag.
- Donald Stellwag.
793
00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:04,200
{\an8}Donald Stellwag.
794
00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:05,720
{\an8}Donald Stellwag, welcome.
795
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:07,800
{\an8}NINE YEARS IN PRISON AS AN INNOCENT MAN
796
00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:10,360
{\an8}[in English] You don't think
the 500 or 1,000 Euros I got
797
00:48:10,360 --> 00:48:13,080
for each appearance were my only earnings?
798
00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:14,360
No.
799
00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:18,920
My earnings came from
product placement for a brewery.
800
00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:20,880
[in German] Welcome, Donald Stellwag.
801
00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:24,760
WOLFSHÖHER BEER
802
00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:29,880
[in English] "Do you want to advertise
on the Johannes B. Kerner show?" "Yes."
803
00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:31,280
"How much are you willing to pay?"
804
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:32,720
Lots of money.
805
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:40,080
{\an8}I had large T-shirts
with the brewery's logo on them.
806
00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:43,960
The second or third time,
Kerner wanted to outwit me.
807
00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:49,920
He said, "Mr. Stellwag,
are you wearing product placement again?"
808
00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:53,160
"That's tricky business here."
809
00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:57,640
"We'll sew you a new shirt
without anything on it."
810
00:48:58,600 --> 00:48:59,440
So I said,
811
00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:01,000
"Too bad."
812
00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:05,000
Of course, I also had a baseball cap
with the brewery's logo with me.
813
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,040
He went, "Oh, you are such a sly dog."
814
00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:13,120
He didn't really need the money.
815
00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:15,880
He got compensation
from the expert witness.
816
00:49:15,880 --> 00:49:18,440
It wasn't like he didn't have enough now.
817
00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:20,880
[interviewer]
What did you do with the money?
818
00:49:21,680 --> 00:49:24,960
What did I do with the money?
Invested it in different businesses.
819
00:49:26,520 --> 00:49:30,000
[in German] These are the new designs.
The black looks great.
820
00:49:30,800 --> 00:49:33,640
[in English] It started
with advertising trucks for breweries.
821
00:49:33,640 --> 00:49:35,240
I'm an excellent salesman.
822
00:49:35,840 --> 00:49:37,280
[bell dings]
823
00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:41,880
Then I was in Hesse and got into watches
in a big way. Collectors' watches.
824
00:49:43,720 --> 00:49:46,320
I was given two watches once.
I still have them.
825
00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:47,920
Here.
826
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:52,200
Great piece.
827
00:49:53,720 --> 00:49:58,160
Unfortunately it's broken and I can't
afford the repairs. It's 300 to 400 Euros.
828
00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:02,440
[Stellwag] Then I moved back to Lauf
829
00:50:02,440 --> 00:50:04,800
and opened up
the antique shop the Gold Oasis.
830
00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:05,800
GOLD OASIS
WE'RE BUYING!
831
00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:07,560
For watches and antiquities.
832
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:12,560
The bank accounts were full.
We always had a lot of cash in the shop.
833
00:50:12,560 --> 00:50:14,600
COMPETENT, REPUTABLE, FAST, RECOMMENDED
834
00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:17,360
In Lauf we lived like gods.
835
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:19,800
In luxury.
836
00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:22,000
High-end.
837
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,200
- [funk music playing]
-♪ Money, money, can't get enough ♪
838
00:50:27,040 --> 00:50:28,840
I was the Donald Stellwag.
839
00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:31,520
The sales director,
the distribution director,
840
00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:33,040
the marketing director.
841
00:50:33,040 --> 00:50:35,280
We dealt in gold, in diamonds.
842
00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:37,240
I knew where you could sell it.
843
00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:38,920
The profit was all right.
844
00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:41,120
And Frank had the connections.
845
00:50:42,720 --> 00:50:46,400
{\an8}While I didn't have
anything to do with gold, I was in Ghana.
846
00:50:46,920 --> 00:50:49,320
{\an8}I was trustworthy. And that's how we met.
847
00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:52,360
Stellwag isn't stupid.
848
00:50:52,360 --> 00:50:53,520
He hears about Ghana,
849
00:50:53,520 --> 00:50:54,760
knows it's the country
850
00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:57,560
that's the second-largest
producer of gold at the time.
851
00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:00,680
Everyone thought you could
buy gold at a low cost there.
852
00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:04,040
The first time I met Frank was in Ghana,
853
00:51:07,200 --> 00:51:09,080
when he was offering me diamonds.
854
00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:12,800
- [interviewer] You were in Ghana?
- Frank was.
855
00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:15,160
I was in the Gold Oasis.
856
00:51:15,880 --> 00:51:19,280
I bought gold for him,
bought him a couple of diamonds and so on.
857
00:51:19,280 --> 00:51:21,680
That's where the idea
to open a mine came from.
858
00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:24,000
So that's what we did.
859
00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:27,920
There are great pictures
of us online opening the mine,
860
00:51:27,920 --> 00:51:30,680
with an excavator
that had all the bells and whistles.
861
00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:34,800
That was just the way
things worked in Ghana.
862
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:38,920
You had to grease
a hand or two to make things move.
863
00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:41,720
Things didn't move fast enough for him.
864
00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:43,960
We're experts in rough diamonds.
865
00:51:45,320 --> 00:51:48,840
"We can't wait that long.
We already have the excavator there."
866
00:51:48,840 --> 00:51:52,680
So I told him, "You can't do that.
It's going to collapse." He didn't listen.
867
00:51:53,400 --> 00:51:55,160
I can count on him for sure.
868
00:51:56,160 --> 00:52:00,120
He then said, "It's my money.
Do what I tell you." So I did.
869
00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:02,480
That's how it came to a halt.
870
00:52:03,720 --> 00:52:07,640
Buying gold, melting it down,
those are typical Donald ideas.
871
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:09,840
{\an8}He's a communicative person.
872
00:52:09,840 --> 00:52:12,400
{\an8}I won't say
he's glued to the phone all day,
873
00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:15,440
{\an8}but he talks a lot
and knows a lot of people.
874
00:52:15,440 --> 00:52:17,600
You make connections that way.
875
00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:19,720
SIM CARDS SAVED UNDER "DONALD CELL"
876
00:52:19,720 --> 00:52:22,400
[Höhn] During the gold heist trial,
it became clear
877
00:52:22,400 --> 00:52:26,160
the defendants and perpetrators
were in regular contact with Stellwag.
878
00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:28,000
COMMUNICATED WITH STELLWAG
UNDER THESE NUMBERS
879
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:29,400
DONALD HOME
DONALD CELL
880
00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:30,520
[phone ringing]
881
00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:34,960
[phone ringing]
882
00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:40,800
DECEMBER 8, 2009
ONE WEEK BEFORE THE GOLD HEIST
883
00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:49,720
[Höhn] It's conspicuous
that Xatar and Stellwag met
884
00:52:49,720 --> 00:52:52,760
a week before the crime,
in the town where he lived.
885
00:52:55,160 --> 00:52:57,320
It's also proven that during this meeting,
886
00:52:57,320 --> 00:53:01,480
they looked at the online presence
of the scrap gold dealer in Nuremberg.
887
00:53:02,240 --> 00:53:03,600
They looked at his website.
888
00:53:13,320 --> 00:53:16,440
[Stellwag] Hanauer is
one of the largest gold buyers in Germany.
889
00:53:17,840 --> 00:53:20,120
Xatar and the Kurds, I know them.
890
00:53:20,760 --> 00:53:22,240
They're customers of mine.
891
00:53:23,000 --> 00:53:25,120
That's true, they bought watches from me.
892
00:53:26,360 --> 00:53:28,440
Yeah. He attracts that stuff.
893
00:53:29,640 --> 00:53:31,800
He's done a lot of business
with many people,
894
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:33,720
especially in the gold sector.
895
00:53:34,200 --> 00:53:37,520
So it's no surprise to me
that he knows someone who just got robbed
896
00:53:37,520 --> 00:53:39,000
by someone he also knows.
897
00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:45,400
It's possible that I told Xatar
at some point,
898
00:53:45,400 --> 00:53:47,800
"You can buy
lots of watches from that guy."
899
00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:49,640
I'd be lying if I didn't say that.
900
00:53:49,640 --> 00:53:52,680
[interviewer] But you never said
there's a truck on a specific day?
901
00:53:52,680 --> 00:53:55,600
I didn't have that information!
How would I?
902
00:53:55,600 --> 00:53:58,400
You'd only know that
if you'd staked him out for weeks.
903
00:54:03,400 --> 00:54:05,200
They came and questioned me.
904
00:54:05,720 --> 00:54:08,760
At that point, I knew
who had committed the gold heist.
905
00:54:09,280 --> 00:54:11,720
Of course, I didn't
talk to the police about that.
906
00:54:11,720 --> 00:54:15,360
Why would I talk about it today?
They were sentenced and did their time.
907
00:54:17,600 --> 00:54:19,000
[Höhn] All the defendants knew.
908
00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:21,640
"They have too much on us.
We're not getting away with it."
909
00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:23,160
There was a deal.
910
00:54:24,120 --> 00:54:25,240
PRISON SENTENCE
911
00:54:25,240 --> 00:54:27,160
8 YEARS
912
00:54:27,160 --> 00:54:29,280
Eight years max if they confessed.
913
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:32,040
So, it was clear
that that would be the sentence.
914
00:54:33,280 --> 00:54:36,760
The trial ended in a verdict,
like every trial does.
915
00:54:36,760 --> 00:54:38,000
Xatar went to prison.
916
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:39,840
Donald Stellwag didn't.
917
00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:44,360
He denied any involvement
to the investigators.
918
00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:50,520
[Stellwag] They searched for valuables...
919
00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:54,120
and found nothing.
920
00:54:57,240 --> 00:55:00,560
I ask you, did I need to commit
a gold heist like that?
921
00:55:00,560 --> 00:55:01,640
It's ridiculous.
922
00:55:02,160 --> 00:55:04,760
There's only one reason
the gold heist was committed.
923
00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:08,200
For the rappers to be
the big guys in their scene.
924
00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:13,760
If you're a gangster rapper,
that gets you all the cred.
925
00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:16,280
{\an8}[rapping in German]
926
00:55:20,400 --> 00:55:21,520
{\an8}[Höhn] It's gangster rap.
927
00:55:21,520 --> 00:55:25,960
{\an8}So for your reputation and credibility,
a gold heist isn't exactly a bad thing.
928
00:55:28,160 --> 00:55:32,120
{\an8}[in German] It's a real, if you like,
a real gangster story, so to speak.
929
00:55:32,120 --> 00:55:34,560
{\an8}Look, Rus, I'm a motherfucker, you know?
930
00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:37,400
{\an8}I'll do anything, man.
931
00:55:39,600 --> 00:55:41,720
[Höhn in English] His label is
Goldmann Entertainment.
932
00:55:41,720 --> 00:55:44,520
{\an8}He appears in music videos
dressed entirely in gold.
933
00:55:45,600 --> 00:55:47,360
{\an8}And now there's also a movie.
934
00:55:47,360 --> 00:55:51,080
{\an8}[Xatar in German] If you want to make it
to the very top, there is no shortcut.
935
00:55:53,480 --> 00:55:59,000
Or maybe there is. But if you take it,
you'll pay a huge price.
936
00:55:59,840 --> 00:56:01,400
How much gold are we talking?
937
00:56:02,280 --> 00:56:05,040
{\an8}- [in Kurdish] Where is the gold?
- Nobody knows.
938
00:56:06,120 --> 00:56:09,280
[Höhn in English] The title is Rhinegold,
and it depicts his life's journey.
939
00:56:09,280 --> 00:56:12,520
He markets the gold heist incredibly well.
940
00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:14,800
It's a fundamental part of his career.
941
00:56:14,800 --> 00:56:18,800
[in German] And now, at the age of 34,
he's even written an autobiography.
942
00:56:18,800 --> 00:56:21,160
It's the story of a criminal hero.
943
00:56:21,160 --> 00:56:23,720
{\an8}[Xatar rapping in German]
944
00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:28,960
[Xatar] Here it is. Xatar, All or Nothing.
945
00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:32,600
And what can I say about the book?
Stories will be told.
946
00:56:32,600 --> 00:56:34,960
What gave you the idea to write a book?
947
00:56:35,680 --> 00:56:38,160
I was behind bars. I had
too much time and a typewriter.
948
00:56:38,160 --> 00:56:41,280
- [typewriter bell dings]
- [classical music playing]
949
00:56:47,600 --> 00:56:49,640
{\an8}"ALL OR NOTHING" (2015)
EXTRACT FROM XATAR'S BOOK
950
00:56:49,640 --> 00:56:52,880
{\an8}[book narrator in English]
"We only called him the big guy."
951
00:56:58,360 --> 00:56:59,880
"The big guy was a quirky figure."
952
00:57:00,560 --> 00:57:03,360
"When he talked,
he didn't really speak. He panted."
953
00:57:08,880 --> 00:57:11,840
"He suffered from cancer
and was almost blind."
954
00:57:11,840 --> 00:57:14,120
"Although he was a real wreck of a guy...
955
00:57:16,440 --> 00:57:17,680
he was also a gangster."
956
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:21,200
[music ends]
957
00:57:22,040 --> 00:57:24,320
{\an8}- [projector whirring]
- [bell tolling]
958
00:57:24,320 --> 00:57:26,520
{\an8}"FUCHSTADT,OUR VILLAGE"
AMATEUR DOCUMENTARY 1971-1973
959
00:57:26,520 --> 00:57:29,080
{\an8}[Stellwag] My path in life
was predetermined.
960
00:57:29,640 --> 00:57:32,280
{\an8}I didn't have a childhood
like a normal person.
961
00:57:35,480 --> 00:57:37,560
Most people said he was a crook.
962
00:57:37,560 --> 00:57:40,000
Others said a real mafioso,
963
00:57:40,520 --> 00:57:43,760
because he did
quite a few things that weren't okay.
964
00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:45,880
I mean, he's unscrupulous.
965
00:57:49,040 --> 00:57:50,840
[Stellwag] Inside me was a bad guy.
966
00:57:50,840 --> 00:57:53,880
Inside this sheep,
coming from a small village,
967
00:57:54,400 --> 00:57:55,880
was a bad wolf.
968
00:57:57,000 --> 00:57:58,760
They made me into a wolf.
969
00:57:58,760 --> 00:58:01,000
[pensive music playing]
970
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:03,040
I didn't know what it was like to live.
971
00:58:03,040 --> 00:58:03,960
WELCOME
972
00:58:04,560 --> 00:58:06,080
I didn't know what love was.
973
00:58:06,600 --> 00:58:07,440
[camera clicks]
974
00:58:09,520 --> 00:58:12,160
{\an8}[man] I've only known him
under the name "Donald"
975
00:58:12,160 --> 00:58:16,040
{\an8}from coverage on TV
about the bank robbery he didn't commit.
976
00:58:16,040 --> 00:58:17,680
{\an8}RUDOLF THORWARTH
NEIGHBOR FROM FUCHSSTADT
977
00:58:17,680 --> 00:58:19,920
{\an8}Before that, in Fuchsstadt,
I only knew him as "Harald."
978
00:58:19,920 --> 00:58:23,280
{\an8}His grandmother called him that,
as well as all of us.
979
00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:26,000
{\an8}DONALD STELLWAG'S GRANDMOTHER
980
00:58:27,920 --> 00:58:29,320
{\an8}[camera clicks]
981
00:58:29,320 --> 00:58:32,560
{\an8}DONALD STELLWAG WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER
982
00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:35,920
{\an8}He grew up in the poorhouse, so to speak.
983
00:58:37,840 --> 00:58:39,640
{\an8}He didn't have
a lot of worldly possessions.
984
00:58:39,640 --> 00:58:41,680
{\an8}DONALD STELLWAG WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER
AND TWO UNCLES
985
00:58:41,680 --> 00:58:43,640
{\an8}He had what he needed to live,
but nothing more.
986
00:58:48,040 --> 00:58:52,600
In the '60s, Fuchsstadt was
essentially a real farming village.
987
00:58:52,600 --> 00:58:55,160
It didn't have a population of 500 yet.
988
00:58:56,720 --> 00:59:00,320
And in the village,
everyone pretty much knew everyone.
989
00:59:00,840 --> 00:59:03,440
[faint marching band music playing]
990
00:59:05,000 --> 00:59:06,720
[Stellwag] I was born out of wedlock,
991
00:59:06,720 --> 00:59:10,760
and on top of that,
I was the child of a US soldier.
992
00:59:10,760 --> 00:59:13,040
To them, I was the Yankee bastard.
993
00:59:16,200 --> 00:59:18,760
[Thorwarth] We basically grew up
with the Americans.
994
00:59:18,760 --> 00:59:21,000
Some saw them as liberators,
995
00:59:21,000 --> 00:59:22,840
others as occupiers.
996
00:59:22,840 --> 00:59:25,760
If a girl got involved
with one of the Americans,
997
00:59:25,760 --> 00:59:27,960
that was really bad news.
998
00:59:28,640 --> 00:59:30,080
Then it would be like,
999
00:59:31,240 --> 00:59:33,040
"There goes the Yankee whore!"
1000
00:59:34,120 --> 00:59:38,440
{\an8}DONALD STELLWAG'S MOTHER
1001
00:59:38,440 --> 00:59:42,120
{\an8}[Stellwag] Because my mother
and my father died very young,
1002
00:59:42,120 --> 00:59:45,560
{\an8}I grew up with my grandparents
on my mother's side.
1003
00:59:45,560 --> 00:59:47,640
[pensive music playing]
1004
00:59:48,360 --> 00:59:51,840
Other than that,
I had no parental figures in my village.
1005
00:59:57,160 --> 00:59:59,840
As an American child, you were a pariah.
1006
01:00:05,200 --> 01:00:10,120
There was a football club,
a youth club, a musical society.
1007
01:00:10,880 --> 01:00:14,080
All the things
a Bavarian village usually has.
1008
01:00:15,360 --> 01:00:16,960
Those were forbidden to me.
1009
01:00:18,040 --> 01:00:19,520
[crowd cheering]
1010
01:00:21,120 --> 01:00:23,600
There's a picture of him
in the soccer team.
1011
01:00:24,200 --> 01:00:27,480
He's there as the goalkeeper
in the middle of the picture.
1012
01:00:27,480 --> 01:00:29,720
- [camera clicks]
- [quirky electronic music playing]
1013
01:00:32,960 --> 01:00:36,440
He was pretty much integrated
into village life.
1014
01:00:40,720 --> 01:00:42,200
[man] Harald is one year my junior.
1015
01:00:42,200 --> 01:00:43,600
So in primary school,
1016
01:00:43,600 --> 01:00:45,040
{\an8}we spent three years together...
1017
01:00:45,040 --> 01:00:46,000
{\an8}JOHANN MEYER SCHOOLMATE
1018
01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:47,000
{\an8}...in the same classroom.
1019
01:00:48,760 --> 01:00:50,400
We were passionate card players.
1020
01:00:50,400 --> 01:00:51,760
We had gatherings.
1021
01:00:51,760 --> 01:00:54,040
He was there every day on weekends.
1022
01:00:55,360 --> 01:00:56,840
When he came to the pub,
1023
01:00:56,840 --> 01:01:00,160
he showed up in a pinstripe suit
and played the big man.
1024
01:01:01,360 --> 01:01:04,600
"Hey, I'm not the little asshole
you all thought I was."
1025
01:01:05,400 --> 01:01:06,320
[camera clicks]
1026
01:01:09,040 --> 01:01:11,840
Just to show people
that even as a Yankee bastard,
1027
01:01:11,840 --> 01:01:14,080
you could make something of yourself.
1028
01:01:16,240 --> 01:01:18,120
Fuchsstadt was too small for him.
1029
01:01:19,600 --> 01:01:21,760
[Stellwag] I wanted to see something new.
1030
01:01:21,760 --> 01:01:23,600
So I went out into the world.
1031
01:01:24,560 --> 01:01:26,160
[upbeat music playing]
1032
01:01:33,080 --> 01:01:35,600
[Stellwag] There was nothing
Frankfurt didn't have.
1033
01:01:35,600 --> 01:01:37,440
And everything was appealing to me.
1034
01:01:39,160 --> 01:01:42,200
It also offered
opportunities to make money.
1035
01:01:46,240 --> 01:01:50,400
There was so much going on.
I just had a lust for life.
1036
01:01:50,400 --> 01:01:51,480
It was fun.
1037
01:01:53,760 --> 01:01:54,880
I made great money.
1038
01:01:57,880 --> 01:01:59,000
Nothing but freedom.
1039
01:02:03,400 --> 01:02:05,840
If someone is rich and not stupid,
1040
01:02:06,760 --> 01:02:07,760
in Germany,
1041
01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:11,280
they can only grow richer.
1042
01:02:11,800 --> 01:02:13,000
There is no other way.
1043
01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:16,280
There is no other way.
1044
01:02:17,080 --> 01:02:19,040
They'd have to be complete idiots.
1045
01:02:19,680 --> 01:02:21,200
[interviewer] Or you get sick.
1046
01:02:21,880 --> 01:02:23,080
Or you get sick.
1047
01:02:24,280 --> 01:02:26,280
[somber music playing]
1048
01:02:30,800 --> 01:02:32,280
I woke up and was like,
1049
01:02:32,280 --> 01:02:35,880
"I feel this kind of pressure.
I don't know what's going on."
1050
01:02:37,800 --> 01:02:39,880
So I went out on the balcony.
1051
01:02:41,560 --> 01:02:42,640
I can't see!
1052
01:02:44,880 --> 01:02:46,080
I'm blind!
1053
01:02:47,960 --> 01:02:48,960
X-rayed.
1054
01:02:49,920 --> 01:02:53,000
"You have a brain tumor.
You need surgery immediately."
1055
01:02:53,640 --> 01:02:54,640
He told me,
1056
01:02:55,520 --> 01:02:58,280
"You'll never live
like a normal person again."
1057
01:02:59,440 --> 01:03:01,680
I must've been 25 at the time.
1058
01:03:03,480 --> 01:03:05,360
I had no libido at all.
1059
01:03:05,360 --> 01:03:08,320
I never had the chance
to live like a man again.
1060
01:03:11,280 --> 01:03:13,720
When you become a monster like that,
1061
01:03:13,720 --> 01:03:16,640
you don't care about anything anymore.
1062
01:03:19,240 --> 01:03:21,880
At that point, I lost everything quickly.
1063
01:03:22,760 --> 01:03:25,680
I became addicted to drugs,
like hardcore heroin.
1064
01:03:26,480 --> 01:03:27,560
[ominous music playing]
1065
01:03:29,640 --> 01:03:34,040
I wasn't expected to live long.
That's why I played with fire.
1066
01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,000
The criminals were in Frankfurt as well.
1067
01:03:45,160 --> 01:03:46,160
I knew everything.
1068
01:03:47,120 --> 01:03:49,880
Where to buy LSD, where to buy weapons.
1069
01:03:51,280 --> 01:03:53,080
I got involved in many things.
1070
01:03:53,080 --> 01:03:55,120
[funky music playing]
1071
01:03:55,960 --> 01:03:59,400
I bought a lot of drugs
and sold them to street-level sellers.
1072
01:03:59,400 --> 01:04:01,000
I made good money.
1073
01:04:02,320 --> 01:04:05,120
We also set up illegal casinos.
1074
01:04:05,960 --> 01:04:07,400
[machine jangles]
1075
01:04:07,400 --> 01:04:09,240
That's where the gamblers went.
1076
01:04:09,240 --> 01:04:11,480
They took out loans from us
at horrendous rates.
1077
01:04:14,080 --> 01:04:16,720
I also did various scams and stole items.
1078
01:04:16,720 --> 01:04:18,920
I had run-ins with the law.
1079
01:04:19,520 --> 01:04:22,160
It wasn't a clean slate. There was a file.
1080
01:04:22,160 --> 01:04:23,920
THEFT - TWO CASES OF FRAUD - EXTORTION
1081
01:04:23,920 --> 01:04:25,400
FRAUD - FRAUD - DRUG DEALING
1082
01:04:25,400 --> 01:04:26,760
12 FRAUD OFFENSES
1083
01:04:26,760 --> 01:04:28,080
EMBEZZLEMENT
1084
01:04:28,680 --> 01:04:29,680
Ridiculous.
1085
01:04:29,680 --> 01:04:31,480
Then I had a lucky break.
1086
01:04:31,480 --> 01:04:33,920
[upbeat electronic music playing]
1087
01:04:33,920 --> 01:04:35,760
[crowd cheering]
1088
01:04:36,560 --> 01:04:39,400
In November of '89, the Wall came down.
1089
01:04:39,400 --> 01:04:42,120
In December,
I was in the new eastern states.
1090
01:04:43,320 --> 01:04:47,160
[reporter in German] Borders come down
for the beautiful world of Western goods.
1091
01:04:47,160 --> 01:04:51,160
[in English] Honestly speaking,
the East Germans were totally duped.
1092
01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:53,480
[interviewer] By you as well?
1093
01:04:53,480 --> 01:04:54,400
Obviously.
1094
01:04:55,320 --> 01:04:59,440
[reporter in German] Drücker are
what we call aggressive magazine salesmen
1095
01:04:59,440 --> 01:05:04,120
that go from door to door and make money
by exploiting people's gullibility.
1096
01:05:04,120 --> 01:05:05,120
My name is Guloff.
1097
01:05:05,640 --> 01:05:08,800
[in English] That's when I realized
the Drücker business was profitable.
1098
01:05:08,800 --> 01:05:11,560
[reporter in German] Their methods
aren't always the most subtle.
1099
01:05:12,240 --> 01:05:15,760
They plead some sob story to evoke pity.
1100
01:05:15,760 --> 01:05:18,240
And using this pity,
they collect signatures
1101
01:05:18,240 --> 01:05:20,640
on long-running magazine subscriptions.
1102
01:05:22,080 --> 01:05:23,840
[Stellwag in English]
It wasn't well-regarded,
1103
01:05:23,840 --> 01:05:26,040
but at the publishers, I was the big man.
1104
01:05:28,120 --> 01:05:30,240
Officially, I was a janitor.
1105
01:05:30,760 --> 01:05:33,320
Unofficially, the head of the Drücker.
1106
01:05:33,320 --> 01:05:36,080
We made an insane amount of money.
1107
01:05:37,800 --> 01:05:39,120
Insane.
1108
01:05:40,760 --> 01:05:42,320
If they hadn't locked me up,
1109
01:05:44,840 --> 01:05:47,040
you'd be in front of a mogul today.
1110
01:05:47,560 --> 01:05:49,080
That's how much money we made.
1111
01:05:54,520 --> 01:05:57,200
But unfortunately I got dragged in there.
1112
01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:00,600
{\an8}[host in German] In December 1991,
1113
01:06:00,600 --> 01:06:03,160
{\an8}this man robbed
a Sparkasse branch in Nuremberg...
1114
01:06:04,800 --> 01:06:06,520
[expert in English]
The scapha doesn't flow
1115
01:06:06,520 --> 01:06:08,720
into the connective tissue area
of the ear.
1116
01:06:09,640 --> 01:06:12,040
The contour of the external ear rim...
1117
01:06:16,920 --> 01:06:21,320
[Baumer] I definitely didn't see it
as an innocent man getting convicted.
1118
01:06:25,400 --> 01:06:27,240
{\an8}THE NÜRNBERGER NACHRICHTEN
NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE
1119
01:06:27,240 --> 01:06:30,360
{\an8}There were a number of factors
that counted against him.
1120
01:06:35,160 --> 01:06:36,160
HEAD OF THE DRÜCKER GANG
1121
01:06:36,160 --> 01:06:40,960
{\an8}The Drücker is already someone
who exhibits a pretty tough demeanor,
1122
01:06:40,960 --> 01:06:43,400
{\an8}so of course the boss of a Drücker gang
1123
01:06:43,400 --> 01:06:46,560
{\an8}is someone who can't be
particularly fragile,
1124
01:06:46,560 --> 01:06:50,400
{\an8}because otherwise, he wouldn't be able
to conduct his business.
1125
01:06:51,240 --> 01:06:54,920
In dubio pro reo doesn't exist.
1126
01:06:54,920 --> 01:06:58,200
The state doesn't have to prove
that you were the perpetrator.
1127
01:06:58,800 --> 01:07:01,000
You have to prove that you weren't.
1128
01:07:03,080 --> 01:07:05,160
BANK ROBBERY TRIAL
1129
01:07:05,160 --> 01:07:09,360
The title "bank robbery trial" suggests
there was nothing else going on,
1130
01:07:09,360 --> 01:07:10,480
which is wrong.
1131
01:07:10,480 --> 01:07:13,960
That wasn't the only offense
he was accused of.
1132
01:07:13,960 --> 01:07:16,480
It also concerned
an offense against property.
1133
01:07:17,160 --> 01:07:19,440
{\an8}ACCUSATION OF EMBEZZLEMENT
1134
01:07:20,280 --> 01:07:23,240
The bank robbery
accounted for 90% of the trial.
1135
01:07:23,240 --> 01:07:24,920
They also added smaller things
1136
01:07:24,920 --> 01:07:26,520
like him squandering money
1137
01:07:26,520 --> 01:07:27,880
or not passing it on.
1138
01:07:27,880 --> 01:07:29,240
I can't tell you exactly.
1139
01:07:30,000 --> 01:07:30,840
GUESTHOUSE OWNER
1140
01:07:30,840 --> 01:07:33,160
230,000.00 DEUTSCH MARKS
1141
01:07:34,400 --> 01:07:35,680
[Baumer] It would be wrong to say
1142
01:07:35,680 --> 01:07:38,640
that the second charge
was just a minor offense.
1143
01:07:39,720 --> 01:07:40,760
If I remember well,
1144
01:07:40,760 --> 01:07:44,480
it was a matter of this person
losing their entire wealth.
1145
01:07:44,480 --> 01:07:49,120
I would say this second charge
put him in a considerably worse position.
1146
01:07:49,840 --> 01:07:55,080
Because he's obviously willing to commit
material violations of law to make money.
1147
01:07:56,080 --> 01:07:57,840
And make lots of money.
1148
01:07:58,800 --> 01:08:02,120
I remember that there were
quite a few previous convictions.
1149
01:08:03,240 --> 01:08:06,760
THE DEFENDANT'S CONSIDERABLE
PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS HAVE TO CARRY WEIGHT
1150
01:08:06,760 --> 01:08:09,280
[Stellwag] I was no angel.
I had prior convictions.
1151
01:08:09,280 --> 01:08:12,360
But I believed, as an old crook
with a code of honor,
1152
01:08:12,360 --> 01:08:15,440
that if you didn't do something,
you didn't get convicted.
1153
01:08:15,440 --> 01:08:18,640
IMPRESSION OF LACK OF CREDIBILITY
OF THE ALIBI WITNESSES
1154
01:08:19,760 --> 01:08:22,280
[Neder] Some of the witnesses
for the alibi were
1155
01:08:22,280 --> 01:08:25,400
people who were
advertising magazines for him.
1156
01:08:25,920 --> 01:08:30,360
The court always looks at those witnesses
with some kind of suspicion,
1157
01:08:30,360 --> 01:08:32,720
because they're on the side
of the defendant,
1158
01:08:32,720 --> 01:08:35,240
THE STATEMENTS SOMETIMES
CONTRADICT EACH OTHER INEXPLICABLY
1159
01:08:35,240 --> 01:08:37,880
and as we know,
their résumés aren't exactly perfect.
1160
01:08:39,920 --> 01:08:43,440
That sort of suggested,
and it happens from time to time,
1161
01:08:44,040 --> 01:08:46,480
that there were collusive agreements.
1162
01:08:46,480 --> 01:08:50,920
At the end, the court was of the opinion
that this was exactly the case here.
1163
01:08:50,920 --> 01:08:54,200
That a couple of buddies
provided a criminal with an alibi.
1164
01:08:55,080 --> 01:08:56,960
[judge] The defendant is guilty.
1165
01:08:56,960 --> 01:08:58,560
[indistinct clamoring]
1166
01:09:03,720 --> 01:09:06,960
[Neder] It's always better
to present an innocent person and say,
1167
01:09:06,960 --> 01:09:08,840
"Justice system, you got it wrong again,"
1168
01:09:08,840 --> 01:09:12,280
instead of saying
he was in fact guilty in the past.
1169
01:09:12,280 --> 01:09:13,920
People on the street would say,
1170
01:09:13,920 --> 01:09:16,680
"Well, it didn't actually affect
an innocent person."
1171
01:09:18,240 --> 01:09:20,880
I believe that this legend of
1172
01:09:20,880 --> 01:09:23,960
"the innocently convicted
with a completely clean slate"
1173
01:09:23,960 --> 01:09:29,560
mostly emerged due to this idea
that the only way to have a chance
1174
01:09:30,360 --> 01:09:33,440
is reasonably selling it well
to the media.
1175
01:09:37,400 --> 01:09:39,640
You often don't have that much airtime,
1176
01:09:39,640 --> 01:09:43,400
which means you work with a certain amount
of black-and-white thinking.
1177
01:09:44,480 --> 01:09:46,880
Here's the victim
of a miscarriage of justice
1178
01:09:46,880 --> 01:09:49,120
who's going to tell us
how it could come to that.
1179
01:09:51,400 --> 01:09:52,320
[Graas] In such a case,
1180
01:09:52,320 --> 01:09:54,640
you really have to paint
a black-and-white picture
1181
01:09:54,640 --> 01:09:56,440
to communicate it clearly.
1182
01:09:56,960 --> 01:10:00,000
If you really want to tell
the story of what happened to him,
1183
01:10:00,800 --> 01:10:05,040
it makes no sense to shine a light
on his past as the head of a Drücker gang,
1184
01:10:05,040 --> 01:10:07,600
because that just creates the wrong mood.
1185
01:10:08,360 --> 01:10:10,160
{\an8}We realized that back then too.
1186
01:10:11,080 --> 01:10:13,240
{\an8}We also had this predicament
during filming,
1187
01:10:13,240 --> 01:10:15,000
{\an8}and decided it wouldn't work.
1188
01:10:15,760 --> 01:10:19,800
Because of his type, he's not exactly
the most sympathetic person.
1189
01:10:19,800 --> 01:10:24,880
No one would perceive him as the victim
of a miscarriage of justice, which he is.
1190
01:10:26,640 --> 01:10:29,680
There were also facts added
that I couldn't remember,
1191
01:10:29,680 --> 01:10:31,200
and I said to myself,
1192
01:10:31,200 --> 01:10:34,680
"What is he talking about?
That maybe happened differently."
1193
01:10:35,720 --> 01:10:38,320
It gained a certain momentum of its own.
1194
01:10:39,920 --> 01:10:42,280
I think there's a battle
going on inside him.
1195
01:10:44,040 --> 01:10:45,240
Like good versus evil.
1196
01:10:52,360 --> 01:10:55,040
I think he arranges
certain things and stories
1197
01:10:55,040 --> 01:10:57,200
so that he's put back in the limelight.
1198
01:10:59,240 --> 01:11:00,280
I believe that.
1199
01:11:00,280 --> 01:11:02,360
[funky music playing]
1200
01:11:08,240 --> 01:11:10,040
[Vogel] No matter what he tells you,
1201
01:11:10,040 --> 01:11:12,880
it's always difficult
to find out if it's true or not.
1202
01:11:15,960 --> 01:11:18,640
So I don't even
look into most things anymore.
1203
01:11:18,640 --> 01:11:21,840
Because I've known this behavior
as long as I've known him.
1204
01:11:25,240 --> 01:11:27,360
- It's no use.
- [interviewer] Because he's a liar?
1205
01:11:27,360 --> 01:11:28,440
[chuckles]
1206
01:11:29,920 --> 01:11:31,960
A normal person would say he's a liar.
1207
01:11:32,760 --> 01:11:34,560
An exaggerator, a fraud.
1208
01:11:37,200 --> 01:11:38,200
Drücker boss.
1209
01:11:39,200 --> 01:11:41,360
[foreboding music playing]
1210
01:11:41,360 --> 01:11:43,200
[Stellwag] If you're in
solitary confinement
1211
01:11:43,200 --> 01:11:46,160
and you have no radio, no TV, it's hell.
1212
01:11:48,440 --> 01:11:49,560
{\an8}I was incarcerated...
1213
01:11:49,560 --> 01:11:50,600
{\an8}FALK SIMANG
FELLOW INMATE
1214
01:11:50,600 --> 01:11:53,800
{\an8}...and got sent to Straubing Prison,
to the sick ward.
1215
01:11:54,720 --> 01:11:56,640
That's where Donald Stellwag was.
1216
01:11:58,880 --> 01:12:00,640
[Stellwag] Nobody talked to me!
1217
01:12:02,520 --> 01:12:06,320
[in German] You are isolated
from everyone, from all prisoners.
1218
01:12:06,320 --> 01:12:07,800
Because you didn't confess?
1219
01:12:07,800 --> 01:12:11,440
Because you won't confess. You say,
"I didn't do it. Do what you want to me."
1220
01:12:11,440 --> 01:12:12,720
So that's what they did.
1221
01:12:13,920 --> 01:12:15,960
[in English] It wasn't isolation
in that sense.
1222
01:12:15,960 --> 01:12:17,720
He was just in the sick ward.
1223
01:12:18,840 --> 01:12:20,560
Because he really was sick.
1224
01:12:21,200 --> 01:12:23,200
[medical monitor beeping]
1225
01:12:25,760 --> 01:12:28,920
[interviewer] So he wasn't in isolation
for not admitting to this crime?
1226
01:12:28,920 --> 01:12:30,960
[repeating] No, no, no.
1227
01:12:32,160 --> 01:12:36,080
It's possible that they tried
preventing groups from forming in prison.
1228
01:12:37,560 --> 01:12:40,920
Donald is someone
who can sway people to his side.
1229
01:12:42,840 --> 01:12:47,640
When you spend 24 hours a day
in your cell, of course you start talking.
1230
01:12:49,600 --> 01:12:52,640
It was just a good match.
We became real friends.
1231
01:12:53,320 --> 01:12:55,320
[medical monitors beeping faintly]
1232
01:13:02,240 --> 01:13:03,920
[Stellwag] Falk had a great story.
1233
01:13:03,920 --> 01:13:06,200
Almost as extraordinary as mine.
1234
01:13:06,200 --> 01:13:07,280
[audience applauding]
1235
01:13:08,800 --> 01:13:09,920
[in German] Good evening.
1236
01:13:09,920 --> 01:13:12,200
In the studio with us is Falk Simang.
1237
01:13:12,200 --> 01:13:15,560
He is a trained roofer
and bricklayer from Dresden.
1238
01:13:15,560 --> 01:13:18,480
He did his military service
in the East German army.
1239
01:13:18,480 --> 01:13:20,160
He's been a mercenary for a year.
1240
01:13:20,160 --> 01:13:23,320
Up until Friday, he was fighting
house-to-house in Mostar.
1241
01:13:24,000 --> 01:13:25,280
[in English] It's quite a story.
1242
01:13:25,280 --> 01:13:29,240
I was incarcerated
for quote-unquote murder
1243
01:13:29,240 --> 01:13:30,920
during the Yugoslav Wars.
1244
01:13:32,720 --> 01:13:35,760
{\an8}[in German] It's not just Serbs, Croats
and Muslims fighting each other.
1245
01:13:35,760 --> 01:13:39,240
{\an8}There are also foreign mercenaries
fighting on all fronts.
1246
01:13:39,240 --> 01:13:40,160
Germans too.
1247
01:13:41,280 --> 01:13:44,560
[in English] Of course,
some I had fought didn't like that at all.
1248
01:13:46,080 --> 01:13:50,720
As a result,
I was bothered a lot from all sides.
1249
01:13:51,320 --> 01:13:53,040
So I had to go to the sick ward.
1250
01:13:54,600 --> 01:13:56,160
He gave me a nickname.
1251
01:13:57,560 --> 01:13:58,520
Big Mäck.
1252
01:13:58,520 --> 01:14:02,600
I think there will be quite a few people
still thinking about him.
1253
01:14:02,600 --> 01:14:04,320
[chuckling]
1254
01:14:06,400 --> 01:14:09,960
He was a legend in Straubing.
They won't have another like him again.
1255
01:14:12,120 --> 01:14:15,680
I established certain structures
in that prison.
1256
01:14:15,680 --> 01:14:18,040
Falk had military training.
1257
01:14:18,040 --> 01:14:21,400
He knew exactly how to go about
recruiting people,
1258
01:14:21,400 --> 01:14:23,480
and what their jobs would be.
1259
01:14:24,760 --> 01:14:26,000
It was grand.
1260
01:14:26,000 --> 01:14:28,680
- [medical monitors beeping]
- [upbeat music playing]
1261
01:14:32,400 --> 01:14:35,880
In front of the sick ward door
was where they always gathered.
1262
01:14:35,880 --> 01:14:37,800
That was always the contact point.
1263
01:14:38,360 --> 01:14:40,280
They'd push notes under the door...
1264
01:14:43,400 --> 01:14:44,440
{\an8}JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
1265
01:14:47,320 --> 01:14:49,920
...then hand over
bank notes or what was needed.
1266
01:14:52,360 --> 01:14:53,680
[cash register dings]
1267
01:14:55,080 --> 01:14:58,000
They had to make sure
they got transferred to the sick ward
1268
01:14:58,000 --> 01:15:00,720
or guarantee that the stuff
made its way there
1269
01:15:01,240 --> 01:15:03,440
via laundry shop workers or something.
1270
01:15:04,120 --> 01:15:06,160
[suspenseful music playing]
1271
01:15:14,960 --> 01:15:18,960
That fits. [laughs]
I believe that straightaway.
1272
01:15:18,960 --> 01:15:24,000
That's exactly the kind of thing
this... isolation, so to speak,
1273
01:15:24,520 --> 01:15:25,760
was supposed to prevent.
1274
01:15:25,760 --> 01:15:28,080
[in German]
They said I had to be put in isolation
1275
01:15:28,080 --> 01:15:30,520
because I had to be separated
from other inmates.
1276
01:15:30,520 --> 01:15:35,200
That means you couldn't talk to anyone
for six years during your incarceration?
1277
01:15:35,200 --> 01:15:36,480
No, I couldn't.
1278
01:15:37,560 --> 01:15:41,160
[Stellwag in English] Should I say
we lived in prison like God in France?
1279
01:15:42,240 --> 01:15:43,680
Is that anyone's business?
1280
01:15:43,680 --> 01:15:45,720
[upbeat music playing]
1281
01:15:46,840 --> 01:15:48,560
It was like in Goodfellas.
1282
01:15:51,440 --> 01:15:54,240
{\an8}[TV in German]
When you think of prison, you picture
1283
01:15:54,240 --> 01:15:57,160
{\an8}all those old movies
with rows and rows of guys behind bars.
1284
01:15:57,160 --> 01:15:59,720
But it wasn't like that for wise guys.
1285
01:16:00,920 --> 01:16:03,360
It really wasn't that bad,
except that I missed Jimmy.
1286
01:16:03,360 --> 01:16:05,200
He was doing his time in Atlanta.
1287
01:16:06,920 --> 01:16:09,640
[Simang in English] There was also
a small kitchen in the sick ward.
1288
01:16:11,400 --> 01:16:13,200
I would always cook for us there.
1289
01:16:14,480 --> 01:16:18,800
Spaghetti, meat, cutlets.
I mean, we had everything.
1290
01:16:22,840 --> 01:16:24,760
[Stellwag] Life like a pig in clover.
1291
01:16:24,760 --> 01:16:26,080
In thick clover.
1292
01:16:27,760 --> 01:16:30,480
Big Mäck was the man.
He could do anything.
1293
01:16:31,840 --> 01:16:32,760
[in German] Believe me.
1294
01:16:33,840 --> 01:16:36,040
[Simang in English]
If it was available, we had it.
1295
01:16:37,240 --> 01:16:39,040
[in German] If DeVito doesn't
do anything soon,
1296
01:16:39,040 --> 01:16:40,440
things will come to a standstill.
1297
01:16:41,600 --> 01:16:44,480
[in English] He's a Pied Piper of sorts.
He can win people over
1298
01:16:44,480 --> 01:16:46,560
and make them go around
running his errands.
1299
01:16:46,560 --> 01:16:49,440
He needs to do that,
because he can't do it himself.
1300
01:16:49,440 --> 01:16:51,040
Others have to do it for him.
1301
01:16:53,080 --> 01:16:54,720
Women are a dime a dozen.
1302
01:16:55,200 --> 01:16:58,840
But real, true friends
are something you rarely find.
1303
01:16:59,720 --> 01:17:01,640
Donald was a lucky find for me.
1304
01:17:02,600 --> 01:17:04,120
[in German] Innocent behind bars...
1305
01:17:04,120 --> 01:17:08,560
[Simang in English] I saw every TV show
he appeared on. It was simply magnificent.
1306
01:17:09,920 --> 01:17:12,160
[in German]
Now he uses his newly found freedom
1307
01:17:12,160 --> 01:17:15,200
to pray in a chapel
near his home in Nuremberg.
1308
01:17:16,640 --> 01:17:18,760
[Simang in English]
Always about being innocent.
1309
01:17:18,760 --> 01:17:21,640
And at some point,
that thing with the gold heist...
1310
01:17:23,720 --> 01:17:25,800
I don't know. If he'd done it, good.
1311
01:17:26,480 --> 01:17:28,200
It would be well-deserved.
1312
01:17:30,840 --> 01:17:33,760
Someone is innocently imprisoned
for a very long time.
1313
01:17:33,760 --> 01:17:35,480
So much went wrong there.
1314
01:17:35,480 --> 01:17:37,440
That could be a reason to say,
1315
01:17:37,440 --> 01:17:39,920
"I've been behind bars
for such a long time."
1316
01:17:39,920 --> 01:17:43,160
"Now, at the very least,
I can go and do something unlawful."
1317
01:17:44,360 --> 01:17:47,800
[Graas] To have anger brewing inside you
after all that time and think,
1318
01:17:47,800 --> 01:17:48,960
"I'm owed one on the house."
1319
01:17:48,960 --> 01:17:50,480
I could imagine that.
1320
01:17:52,200 --> 01:17:53,760
I'm not sure what I would have done,
1321
01:17:53,760 --> 01:17:56,520
spending nine years imprisoned,
falsely accused.
1322
01:18:00,120 --> 01:18:03,400
What happened to him was terrible,
but he doesn't get a free pass.
1323
01:18:05,440 --> 01:18:07,840
You can't weigh that
against a new crime and say,
1324
01:18:07,840 --> 01:18:10,200
"Okay, I'm entitled to this now."
1325
01:18:10,200 --> 01:18:12,440
He's owed one, but it's not right.
1326
01:18:14,680 --> 01:18:17,920
He is a victim
of a miscarriage of justice. Period.
1327
01:18:19,720 --> 01:18:21,000
In this case, anyway.
1328
01:18:28,640 --> 01:18:30,960
[book narrator]
"Although he was a real wreck of a guy,
1329
01:18:30,960 --> 01:18:32,520
he was also a gangster."
1330
01:18:36,080 --> 01:18:37,560
{\an8}"The boss of a Drücker crew..."
1331
01:18:37,560 --> 01:18:39,000
{\an8}EXTRACT FROM XATAR'S BOOK
1332
01:18:39,000 --> 01:18:42,560
{\an8}"...forcing men to sell
magazine subscriptions door to door."
1333
01:18:42,560 --> 01:18:43,880
ANTIQUE & JEWELRY MARKETS
1334
01:18:46,120 --> 01:18:48,720
"He was dealing in jewelry now.
Officially."
1335
01:18:49,520 --> 01:18:51,520
"He wanted to sell me something else."
1336
01:18:53,840 --> 01:18:54,840
"Information."
1337
01:18:55,560 --> 01:18:57,560
[tense music playing]
1338
01:18:58,880 --> 01:19:02,400
[Stellwag in English] You'd only know that
if you'd staked him out for weeks.
1339
01:19:06,160 --> 01:19:08,200
[Höhn] He had built up trust
with an employee
1340
01:19:08,200 --> 01:19:10,560
of this scrap gold merchant
from Nuremberg,
1341
01:19:11,600 --> 01:19:15,440
and questioned him over several months,
more or less, about the company.
1342
01:19:18,800 --> 01:19:21,160
The guy apparently answered him naively.
1343
01:19:21,160 --> 01:19:22,880
That way, Stellwag learned there was
1344
01:19:22,880 --> 01:19:25,880
this transport that wasn't
particularly well-secured,
1345
01:19:26,480 --> 01:19:29,640
and eventually convinced himself to do it.
1346
01:19:29,640 --> 01:19:30,920
FACTS
1347
01:19:30,920 --> 01:19:36,000
DONALD STELLWAG SUGGESTED
AMBUSHING A GOLD TRANSPORTER
1348
01:19:36,000 --> 01:19:39,560
[Höhn] The court determined
that he was involved in planning the crime
1349
01:19:39,560 --> 01:19:41,640
and was the one to give the tip-off.
1350
01:19:43,560 --> 01:19:47,240
He couldn't tell the story of the victim
of the justice system. That was done.
1351
01:19:53,240 --> 01:19:55,360
There were no clues to contradict this.
1352
01:19:55,360 --> 01:19:57,880
He never defended himself.
He didn't have to.
1353
01:20:00,000 --> 01:20:02,800
[Neder] There was a warrant.
They wanted to lock him up.
1354
01:20:02,800 --> 01:20:05,160
We didn't do anything
to prove his innocence.
1355
01:20:05,680 --> 01:20:08,920
The man couldn't be put on trial.
He couldn't be charged.
1356
01:20:09,440 --> 01:20:13,160
In this case with the gold,
the strategy was his health.
1357
01:20:13,160 --> 01:20:14,240
Nothing else.
1358
01:20:15,640 --> 01:20:16,840
Neder said,
1359
01:20:16,840 --> 01:20:20,280
"I immediately want to arrange
a detention review hearing
1360
01:20:20,280 --> 01:20:22,680
to see if he's even fit for prison."
1361
01:20:22,680 --> 01:20:24,160
Here's the story.
1362
01:20:24,720 --> 01:20:26,200
[dramatic music playing]
1363
01:20:28,040 --> 01:20:29,920
[Stellwag] There was a medical director,
1364
01:20:30,520 --> 01:20:33,520
a pathologist
for the district court in Nuremberg.
1365
01:20:38,680 --> 01:20:40,600
Head of pathology in Nuremberg.
1366
01:20:43,480 --> 01:20:45,840
He comes in, opens the file.
1367
01:20:47,840 --> 01:20:50,840
I swear to you on all I hold dear...
1368
01:20:52,960 --> 01:20:55,040
he looks at me, looks at the file.
1369
01:20:55,880 --> 01:20:57,960
Looks at me again and says,
1370
01:20:58,640 --> 01:21:00,640
"I can't believe it.
You're Donald Stellwag?"
1371
01:21:00,640 --> 01:21:01,720
"Yeah."
1372
01:21:03,480 --> 01:21:06,240
"What my court and the state did to you,
1373
01:21:07,000 --> 01:21:09,000
we will never be able to atone for."
1374
01:21:19,040 --> 01:21:20,080
"Unfit for prison."
1375
01:21:21,400 --> 01:21:27,480
{\an8}UNFIT FOR PRISON
1376
01:21:27,480 --> 01:21:29,560
[upbeat music playing]
1377
01:21:32,840 --> 01:21:34,880
[Stellwag] Later, when we sat together,
1378
01:21:35,400 --> 01:21:38,200
Neder says to me, "I'm a lawyer."
1379
01:21:38,200 --> 01:21:42,800
"In law circles,
that's what we call a carte blanche."
1380
01:21:42,800 --> 01:21:45,760
"Something like that
doesn't even exist in Germany."
1381
01:21:46,280 --> 01:21:49,480
"Unfit for prison?
You'd have to be dead for that."
1382
01:21:52,160 --> 01:21:53,560
Unfit for prison.
1383
01:22:04,320 --> 01:22:05,880
[Neder] You're not allowed to say it.
1384
01:22:06,400 --> 01:22:08,800
The justice system
doesn't like to hear it.
1385
01:22:08,800 --> 01:22:11,400
It's due to the actual
state of his health.
1386
01:22:11,400 --> 01:22:13,360
In effect, it is carte blanche.
1387
01:22:13,880 --> 01:22:15,280
That's what it is.
1388
01:22:16,680 --> 01:22:18,600
He isn't doing anything bad.
1389
01:22:20,200 --> 01:22:22,440
Theoretically, he can do
whatever he wants.
1390
01:22:22,440 --> 01:22:24,520
[suspenseful music playing]
1391
01:22:26,320 --> 01:22:30,120
It's understandable that people
who have been caught, are on trial,
1392
01:22:30,120 --> 01:22:33,160
and potentially facing
a long prison sentence,
1393
01:22:33,160 --> 01:22:34,480
would try and shift the blame
1394
01:22:34,480 --> 01:22:37,560
to a person
who could likely not be prosecuted.
1395
01:22:37,560 --> 01:22:39,640
He is unfit for prison, after all.
1396
01:22:39,640 --> 01:22:41,520
That could be a defense strategy.
1397
01:22:45,800 --> 01:22:47,160
{\an8}[book narrator] "As for the gold...
1398
01:22:50,960 --> 01:22:52,960
{\an8}we made it so we could blame it on him."
1399
01:22:55,800 --> 01:22:58,280
"He was seriously ill
and had nothing to fear."
1400
01:22:59,560 --> 01:23:01,960
"In that way, he saved our asses."
1401
01:23:04,360 --> 01:23:06,240
Has that trial uncovered the truth?
1402
01:23:07,920 --> 01:23:11,360
In parts, yes, I'm convinced of that.
But not all of it.
1403
01:23:11,360 --> 01:23:14,400
As we know, it's not known
where the stolen goods are now.
1404
01:23:16,760 --> 01:23:19,560
Who profited and to what degree?
We don't know.
1405
01:23:43,000 --> 01:23:47,840
[Vogel] Everyone here is a neat freak.
I just don't get it. It's a little much.
1406
01:23:48,760 --> 01:23:50,520
There's nothing on the streets.
1407
01:23:51,240 --> 01:23:55,320
Our property is the messiest by far.
People get worked up about it.
1408
01:23:56,520 --> 01:23:58,520
[birds twittering]
1409
01:23:59,760 --> 01:24:01,720
They're watching the street
from their windows
1410
01:24:01,720 --> 01:24:03,680
so they have something to report.
1411
01:24:05,000 --> 01:24:07,560
{\an8}Just normal countryside stuff in Germany.
1412
01:24:07,560 --> 01:24:09,880
{\an8}DRIVE CAREFULLY!
IT COULD BE YOUR CHILD TOO
1413
01:24:09,880 --> 01:24:12,080
{\an8}I tell myself, "They don't know you."
1414
01:24:12,080 --> 01:24:14,160
[pensive music playing]
1415
01:24:40,680 --> 01:24:42,360
[Vogel] My name is Frank Vogel.
1416
01:24:42,360 --> 01:24:43,960
I'm almost 53 years old,
1417
01:24:43,960 --> 01:24:45,760
and I take care of Mr. Stellwag.
1418
01:24:46,960 --> 01:24:48,200
[Stellwag] Good food!
1419
01:24:48,880 --> 01:24:51,080
- Thank you.
- Here's your sandwiches.
1420
01:24:57,760 --> 01:24:58,760
Thank you.
1421
01:24:59,800 --> 01:25:00,920
Thank you, Mr. Vogel.
1422
01:25:02,200 --> 01:25:03,720
From the bottom of my heart.
1423
01:25:05,480 --> 01:25:07,240
But I can't eat it without salt.
1424
01:25:08,360 --> 01:25:10,000
I know why you keep hiding it.
1425
01:25:13,680 --> 01:25:16,640
[Vogel] The reason is simple.
I'm also fat.
1426
01:25:17,960 --> 01:25:20,840
Maybe someday,
I'll be in this situation too.
1427
01:25:20,840 --> 01:25:24,600
I hope somebody will do for me
what I'm doing for him now.
1428
01:25:28,280 --> 01:25:29,480
It's as simple as that.
1429
01:25:32,840 --> 01:25:34,600
I live off of whatever comes in.
1430
01:25:36,960 --> 01:25:37,880
Antiques
1431
01:25:38,760 --> 01:25:40,480
or whatever comes my way.
1432
01:25:41,960 --> 01:25:43,680
But nothing illegal.
1433
01:25:43,680 --> 01:25:46,960
- [quietly chuckles]
- [interviewer] Why are you laughing?
1434
01:25:47,800 --> 01:25:50,640
Because everyone assumes
since I live with him,
1435
01:25:51,760 --> 01:25:53,800
I must be doing something illegal.
1436
01:25:57,920 --> 01:26:00,920
[Höhn] In the trial,
it didn't become clear who has the gold.
1437
01:26:00,920 --> 01:26:02,080
Many could have it.
1438
01:26:04,640 --> 01:26:05,760
[phone dialing]
1439
01:26:08,080 --> 01:26:10,520
[in German] I still have a bit of gold,
and it has to go.
1440
01:26:10,520 --> 01:26:11,680
{\an8}ORDER NOW!!!
1441
01:26:11,680 --> 01:26:14,800
{\an8}STARTING TODAY THERE IS A NEW
INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY! #NOJOKE
1442
01:26:14,800 --> 01:26:17,800
{\an8}You now have the opportunity
to get real gold from Xatar
1443
01:26:17,800 --> 01:26:20,080
with the limited Xatar coin.
1444
01:26:21,640 --> 01:26:25,000
[Höhn in English] The Xatar coin is
a gold coin with his face on it.
1445
01:26:25,000 --> 01:26:28,480
And the references to the gold heist
are more than obvious.
1446
01:26:29,440 --> 01:26:31,200
[in German] You better act fast.
1447
01:26:33,760 --> 01:26:36,880
{\an8}[in English] There isn't a lot of effort
put into denying the rumors
1448
01:26:36,880 --> 01:26:39,360
that maybe they do
have the gold after all.
1449
01:26:40,440 --> 01:26:43,200
{\an8}[in German] During all that time,
1450
01:26:43,200 --> 01:26:45,440
{\an8}has anyone revealed
what happened to the loot in the end?
1451
01:26:45,440 --> 01:26:47,520
No. Because none of us know.
1452
01:26:47,520 --> 01:26:49,600
[whimsical music playing]
1453
01:26:50,600 --> 01:26:53,280
But the gold is hidden somewhere
and you know where?
1454
01:26:54,440 --> 01:26:55,640
That's what you're saying.
1455
01:26:58,040 --> 01:27:00,480
If you had gold, where would you bury it?
1456
01:27:00,480 --> 01:27:01,720
[audience laughs]
1457
01:27:01,720 --> 01:27:04,720
Come on, you would bury it.
I would bury it.
1458
01:27:04,720 --> 01:27:08,120
{\an8}After ten years, I'm still getting asked,
"Bro, where is your gold?"
1459
01:27:13,200 --> 01:27:14,920
[interviewer in English]
So where's the gold?
1460
01:27:16,880 --> 01:27:21,000
Look around you. I'm in the house
of a friend who takes care of me.
1461
01:27:22,120 --> 01:27:24,720
There's no gold here.
Never was nor will be.
1462
01:27:25,720 --> 01:27:27,720
- [loud ringtone playing]
- Sorry.
1463
01:27:33,320 --> 01:27:37,080
Hey, [bleep]. I don't have time.
There's a TV crew here.
1464
01:27:39,120 --> 01:27:41,400
What about the Dom Pérignon
and all that wine?
1465
01:27:43,200 --> 01:27:45,360
[bleep]
1466
01:27:45,840 --> 01:27:46,760
How many?
1467
01:27:46,760 --> 01:27:48,200
A thousand bottles?
1468
01:27:48,200 --> 01:27:49,520
You're crazy.
1469
01:27:50,600 --> 01:27:54,960
Where is it supposed to go?
I'll have to ask the suppliers.
1470
01:27:57,840 --> 01:27:58,840
All right.
1471
01:28:01,040 --> 01:28:02,080
We'll talk later, okay?
1472
01:28:03,800 --> 01:28:04,800
Ciao.
1473
01:28:07,200 --> 01:28:09,200
[funky outro music playing]